Anyone that has had to deal with frozen pipes in Ottawa before is well aware of the inconvenience of waking up and not being able to flush your toilet or take a shower.
But what is really scary is the potential damage that frozen pipes can cause.
When your pipes freeze, the water inside the piping will begin to expand, and your copper or pex piping won’t hold up to it.
The image you see is of a pipe expanding due to water freezing inside of it in the image above you can see the pipe has frozen to the point that it expanded and split the pipe.
The problem is that you may not be aware that it is frozen. In this example, you can see split, but there would have been a long time between it freezing and it creating a flood. The reason is that once it expands to the point that it splits open the pipe, there will be a big glob of ice there and no leak. It won’t start leaking until it warms up as the split is blocked with a chunk of ice. Hopefully you’re lucky, you will be home when it thaws, and aware of the damage and flooding so you will be able to turn your water off and minimize the damage.
If you’re not home however, things are less pretty. If this leak has gone undetected, and it happens to warm up while you’re away at work, or sleeping at night, your house will be entirely flooded.
1. Shut off the main water supply at the meter or main shut-off valve to prevent pressure buildup and potential pipe bursts.
3. Identify likely frozen areas, especially pipes along exterior walls, in unheated spaces, basements, crawl spaces, garages, or under sinks.
4. Gently warm the suspected frozen section using a hair dryer, heating pad, or warm towels. Start closest to the faucet and work your way back. Never use an open flame.
5. Watch and listen for leaks as the pipe thaws. Frozen pipes often crack, and leaks may appear once water flow returns.
6. Restore water slowly and check that water is flowing normally from fixtures. If water doesn’t return or you notice leaks, contact a plumber immediately.
