How to thaw frozen pipes

Since there isn't a basement under this prefab house we rent, every winter we end up with frozen pipes. We always keep the bathroom faucet dripping but someone inevitably forgets to keep it dripping. So far this year, we have managed to remember to keep the water trickling, so our pipes haven't frozen yet, knock on wood.

If you don't keep your water dripping on a sub zero night, your pipes can still freeze, even if you have a basement. Thawing frozen pipes is not fun, but there are ways to do it cheaply and effectively. One method is a hair dryer. Last winter, we took a hair dryer and wrapped it around the pipes so that it directed heat at the frozen spot in the pipe, and then plugged it into an extension cord. The electric bill was through the roof, but the pipes thawed out.

To thaw out your pipes, locate the frozen area, shut off the water valve, unfreeze the pipe, and immediately wrap up the pipes with heat tape. Heat tape is not cheap, but it sure does beat having to get under the house on a miserable cold day and freeze your hands while thawing out a pipe that should have never frozen in the first place!

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