Q&A for How to Unfreeze Water Pipes

Your pipe is still frozen. If the water isn't turning on, it's a sign that the supply line isn't getting water, which means something is either turned off or frozen. If you didn't simply forget to turn the water supply back on, that leaves frozen as the primary answer. Keep trying to unfreeze your pipe.

Yes. Shut the well pump off if a pipe is frozen. Just know, you won't have access to fresh water until the pipe thaws, so you may want to tackle the frozen pipes sooner rather than later.

The "drip trick" doesn't work on outdoor spigots. Shut the water to that specific spigot off if you can. If you can't, just leave it alone and close the spigot once the faucet finally thaws.

If only a small amount of water is trickling out of the faucet, you already found the frozen pipe. Leave the water trickling to help thaw the pipe.

At the source of your property water intake. Or, the pipe is frozen before your home, at street level.

Yes, if you've correctly identified the location of the frozen section and wrap the same area.

Underground water pipes are naturally insulated, so it will take some time. It depends on how deep the pipe(s) is. All underground water pipes should be below your area's frost line to prevent freezing.

Both. Turn on the hot water and let it come to a drip and then turn on the cold water and let it come to a drip. Hot and cold water come from different pipes, so it is best to run both.

No. Hot water lines are separate from cold water lines. So when you are running the hot water, you are using a different pipe to supply water.

Your pipe may be frozen in a different area than where you're aiming the heat gun. You may also need to remove any covering on the pipe in order to ensure that the heat is able to reach the ice.

It depends on the length of the pipe as well as the hair dyer heat. Working from the water source first is the quickest bet, especially if there are bleed valves to slightly open. Check your progress while heating to see if the water is starting to flow.

This depends on the outside temperature and your water heater's efficiency -- the hotter and more efficient, the faster. An average water heater takes about half an hour to fully replenish the hot water supply.

It depends on how much ice is frozen. The more ice you have, the more heat and time will be needed to melt the ice.

It depends on the climate you live in, but most pipes have some type of insulation on them such as foam that prevents them from freezing even when left dripping.

There are two possible reasons for this. First, the hot water pipe may be more exposed to cold air (by being closer to an external wall, for example) than the cold water pipe. Another option is that some ionic impurities in the water will come out of the solution in the water heater. These ionic impurities reduce the freezing point of your water a degree or more, depending on the concentration, making it more vulnerable to freezing.

No. Antifreeze is for fuel and oil in cars. It won’t do anything for pipes.

No, that would be a waste of water. You could try to heat up the pipes manually, or you could leave the water running and let the flow drip in a bucket for later use. Remember, don’t waste water!

Not a good idea. A welder can make you go blind if your naked eye is exposed to it, and you may inadvertently weld the pipe shut. And a battery charger is hazardous all around.

You should apply salt down the drains to lower the freezing temperature of the water. Once it heats up, you should look into doing preventative measures so your drains don’t freeze in the future.

You will probably have to use two heat guns. More heat is usually best for deep-frozen pipes.

Yes, that's a strong possibility. When you have a trickle of water from an outside faucet but no water flowing inside the house, it often indicates that the pipes leading into your house are frozen. The small amount of water coming out of the faucet might be from a section of the pipe that is not fully frozen, but the main line could still be blocked. Address this promptly to prevent further freezing and potential pipe damage.