If you reside in a region that might get a lot of freezing weather such as ice and snow, then you are likely to be used to what frozen water lines in your house can do. A quick or prolonged drop in temperature, more so in the night time hours, may catch you unprepared when you have not winterized your home water pipes.

Freezing water in the lines on the exterior or in the crawlspace of your residence will be disastrous enough, but when you have water pipes freeze and rupture inside the residence, it can be even more damaging. While water is inside pipes and the temperature drops enough to begin freezing, the frozen water grows bigger and will crack a pipe or cause it to come lose where there is a joint. This is not an issue as long as the water remains frozen. After the temperature gets above freezing and the frozen water becomes liquid again is what creates the real problem.

If you have not realized that a line has frozen and is busted, as the frozen water thaws adequately to let the water flow return, this is when certain flooding will happen. If you are away from the house, then you know what that means.

If you have a line to explode suddenly, cut off the valve to that pipe if there is one, but more than likely you may need to shut off all the water to your home. The faster you can turn the water off, the less flooding you will have to clean up. When appliances or any electrical things are getting soaked, turn off the electricity first, then the water. After you get the water off, clean up the flood as fast as you possibly can to prevent harm to your floors, walls, appliances, cabinets, and furniture.

If being a plumber is a skill you do not possess, then you must engage one. When you are lucky, you will only have a single pipe that has frozen and burst, but many times there could be more than one. Examine all of the pipes before turning any water back on and especially under the residence and in attics and basements.

Stopping frozen pipes is the solution to not having this issue. Pipes that are exposed to very cold temperatures similar to those in the crawlspace of the residence, in your attic, or outside faucets, need to be wrapped with special insulation or heat tape that will prevent the lines from getting frozen. Inside the home, opening cabinet doors so that warm air can get to pipes should help as well. Disconnect water hoses and sprinklers outside and shut off their water supply. Drain the lines of any water that remains in them.