LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When temperatures drop, you may know how to prevent your pipes from freezing -- turn on the faucet and keep cold areas insulated. But what happens when your pipes still freeze?
"It just becomes a waiting game at that point," Phil Tanner with Tom Drexler Plumbing said.
While you wait, Tanner said there's a couple steps you should follow.
First, shut off your main water valve.
"It's going to be something that looks like this," Tanner said Wednesday, pointing to a valve. " It's a simple off on."
Second, open your faucet.
"As that water freezes, it's increasing that water in the pipe. And that's what causes a pipe to burst," he said. "So opening a faucet and turning it on can help relieve that pressure and give it somewhere to go."
Tanner said you can also use heating tape or a blow dryer to warm your pipes, but they're hardly effective.
"You don't know necessarily know where that water is frozen at. In most homes, you can't see all the piping to all of the fixtures. You see portions off it, but not all of it," Tanner said.
He adds you're better off keeping an eye on your pipes in case they bursts. If they do, double check your main valve is off and clean up the water to prevent molding.
Then most importantly, leave it in the hands of the professionals.
Tanner also advises to not use a space heater close to your water pipes. Doing this can cause a fire.
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