Tips for Homeowners.

4 Signs Your Sewer Lines Are Frozen & How To Unfreeze Them

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Plumbing needs particular attention, especially during winter, to have a smooth-running through periods of harsh weather conditions and to avoid freezings, bursts, and other common winter problems.
With winter coming closer every day, it's important that you do a systems inspection of your house. While most homeowners check their insulation and heating, very few worry about pipes and plumbing.

Sewer pipes and the drainage system of your house can freeze at extremely cold temperatures. So not getting a drain cleaning or sewer cleaning service on time could spell trouble for your home.

But how do you recognize if your pipes and plumbing are at risk this winter? Here are four signs to look out for:

l No running water from the tap
The most obvious sign that your pipes are frozen is the lack of running water. Frozen pipes either completely block or partially restrict the movement of water and dry your tap up.

l Weird or disgusting smells coming from your sewer line
The snow, ice, and frost during winter can sometimes cause a drain blockage, which also might call for immediate water jetter sewer cleaning by an emergency plumber. When this accumulates over time, your pipes begin to smell and may experience an exponentially high level of mold growth.



l Water isn't at the correct temperature



If water that comes out of pipes is too cold even when you've heated it up and your water heater isn't faulty, then chances are that your pipes are freezing.

l There is frost or ice in the pipes
An obvious sign that your pipes are frozen is frost or ice inside or on them. This happens only during extreme weather, so you'll need to take immediate action to protect your water supply line installation.


4 ways to thaw your frozen pipes

l Turn up the heat in the bathroom
This works well for exposed drainage pipes. Doing this will warm up your pipes and unfreeze the ice accumulated within them.

l Get an infrared lamp to thaw underground or in-wall pipes
The heat from the infrared light easily goes through walls/flooring and provides a gentle warming effect. If the frost accumulation is low, this strategy will work wonders.

l Paste electrical heating tape on the pipes
If your sewer pipes and drains are outside and exposed on the ground, you can tape them up with electrical heating tapes. These tapes are quite effective and can thaw your pipes in a matter of hours.

l Contact an emergency plumber for assistance
The best and safest way to unfreeze your pipes is to contact a professional for emergency drain cleaning. A drain camera inspection should also be able to evaluate the extensiveness of the problem.

If your pipes are beyond saving, don't worry. Call a reputed emergency drain repair service to replace water service line installations and carry out a full drain replacement.

5/03/2019