If you have frozen pipes, you can initially try to melt the frozen pipes using a vacuum cleaner and hair dryer. Attach the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner hose to the faucet, seal the space between the faucet and the vacuum cleaner hose with your hands. Turn on the vacuum cleaner and water tap, suck for a few minutes until the water starts to drip. If the water starts to drip, you can continue to try to melt the ice in the pipes by letting the water run. The pros usually use steam to defrost the pipes, which you can try if you have a steam cleaner at home. Fire or fan heaters should not be used. If you need professional help, contact 24 Center's customer service by calling 465 40 102.
Winters have become quite volatile over the past decade: during the week the temperature can be above zero, but immediately the next week the temperature drops drastically below zero. Such temperature changes wear out the pipes many times over. One can imagine that a mild winter can be pleasant; you don't have to shovel snow, you don't have to dress as much and the pipes don't freeze.
Frozen pipes are mostly boring, annoying and complicate life for a while. Mostly, frozen pests affect people living in single-family homes, especially in older houses. In the worst case scenario, the pipes can freeze in anyone's home. Frozen pipes are not always just a small thing either, water is exciting as it expands when it freezes, unlike other chemical compounds. Frozen pipes can thus lead to cracked pipes, which can lead to a slightly bigger job.
Therefore, it is profitable to think in advance how to prevent the pipes from freezing and what to do when the pipes are clean frozen. It doesn't pay to contact a professional immediately because even small things you have done in advance help a lot and the professionals will say the same things to you. The plumber can thaw the pipes if they are not yet completely frozen, but if the pipes have had time to freeze completely, you may need a high-power flushing truck with steam blowing.
Prevention is the best way to avoid frozen pipes
If you live in a detached house, it's worth finding out where the house pipe is located. The house pipe is the main pipe where all the water in the house comes from, and it usually freezes first when it gets colder. When a cooler night is expected, it pays to open the nearest tap to the house pipe and let the water run. To save resources, it's worth letting cold water run at low pressure - it's not enough for it to drip as only running water can prevent the pipes from freezing in the morning. During the night, about 10 liters of water flow and after a week of running, the water fee has risen by about 100 NOK. This is small compared to repairing a burst pipe, which usually starts from 5000 NOK. The water can be conserved as long as you have a sufficiently large tank.
It is also important to insulate pipes. Make sure that the temperature changes in the pipes are as small as possible. If you live in a rental property, you can't influence this, but for the homeowner it pays to find out if anything has been done to the insulation since the house was built and if the house had problems with frozen pipes.
A heating cable is a good help if the pipes have frozen before and the risk of freezing again is high. The principle is the same: The cable keeps the water at such a temperature that it doesn't freeze. You can get a heating cable for a few hundred kroner.
