We fix frozen pipes in Buffalo.

You’ve probably seen online guides or videos showing you how to do thaw out your home’s frozen pipes. It might look straightforward enough, but it can actually be incredibly dangerous. Applying the sudden heat of a hairdryer or boiling water to a frozen pipe could cause it to burst. Never use an open flame source, such as a propane torch. This can damage the pipe material and lead to significant plumbing issues down the road.

First, call your landlord or property manager and tell them about the problem. Chances are, if your pipes have frozen, those in surrounding units have, as well. They’ll need to turn water off to the building so that our plumbers can start the process of thawing out the frozen pipes or making repairs to the pipes themselves.

Yes. On the coldest nights of the year, keeping the water in your pipes moving can be beneficial and help prevent your pipes from freezing. To do this, leave your kitchen or bathroom sink faucet at an ever-so-slight drip. There are other, highly effective ways to prevent frozen pipes. One is having our plumbers install insulating sheathing around your pipes in exterior walls. This slows down the loss of heat in the event your furnace stops working, buying your home several hours.

Yes. It’s just physics: eventually, all the ice in your pipes will thaw out. However, you don’t necessarily want to wait around for that to happen. As the ice begins to thaw, the presence of water can actually increase the pressure on the interior pipe walls, which in turn increases the risk of the pipe bursting. Many pipe bursts occur when homeowners elect to do nothing. In effect, they’re taking a big chance with their home’s plumbing.