Frozen or Burst Pipes in Salmon Arm

Salmon Arm and the Shuswap get stretches of hard cold, not just one frosty night. Pipes freeze in crawlspaces, on outside walls, under a house left empty, and in hose bibs that still have a hose attached. Call Salmon Arm Plumbing and we'll send a plumber. If water is already pouring, this is anemergency plumber situation and the main valve comes first.

Signs a pipe is frozen

• A tap opens and nothing comes out, or it trickles and then stops.
• Frost on a pipe you can see, or a pipe that looks bulged.
• The kitchen works and a bathroom on an outside wall does not, or the other way around.
• A hiss, a drip, or a stain that appears as the house warms up. That can mean the pipe already split and the ice is plugging the hole.

Only one fixture failing can still be a frozen branch. No water anywhere can be a frozen main, a closed valve, or a well pump that quit in the cold. If you are on a well, also read thewell pump and pressure tank page. A pump that short-cycles is a different fault from a frozen line.

Thaw a line without making it worse

Do not use an open flame. A torch, a camp stove, or a barbecue lighter can scorch wood and start a fire inside a wall or under a house. That is a common way a frozen pipe becomes a house fire.

• If you suspect the pipe has split, shut the main valve before any thaw. When the ice lets go, the split sprays.
• Open the tap on the frozen fixture so water and steam have somewhere to go.
• Warm the pipe with a hair dryer, moving it along the line. Keep the dryer dry, and use a GFCI outlet if you are near a sink. Do not stand in water.
• Warm air in the room, an open cupboard door under a sink, and time will thaw some lines. Towels soaked in hot water work on a pipe you can reach.
• Heat tape that is already installed can be plugged in if the cord and the thermostat look intact. Do not wrap a new temporary cord around a fitting you cannot see.

If you cannot find the frozen spot, or the pipe is inside a finished wall, leave it and call. Opening a wall is cheaper than a flood you caused by guessing. Electric heaters and water do not mix. The same caution is on the hot water tank page if the heater was drained or the power is still on.

If a pipe has already burst

1. Shut the main water valve. Clockwise. On a well, kill power to the pump as well.
2. If the burst is on the hot side, turn the water heater to off or trip its breaker, without standing in the water.
3. Open a tap lower than the leak, if you can, to let standing water drain after the supply is off.
4. Move belongings and take photos for insurance before you mop.
5. Call. We'll send a plumber. After-hours visits depend on who is on call. We do not promise a time.

Once the water is off, a burst pipe can usually wait an hour without getting worse. Leaving it under pressure cannot. Wet drywall and a ceiling stain are signs to mention, and they overlap with leak repair.

How to keep lines from freezing

• Insulate pipes in crawlspaces and along outside walls. Foam tube is a start. It does not fix a room that is below freezing.
• On the coldest nights, let a pencil-lead trickle run from the tap furthest from the main. Moving water freezes more slowly. Catch it if you are on a septic system that you do not want to flood.
• Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so room heat reaches the pipes.
• Disconnect hoses from outdoor bibs. A frost-free hose bib can still freeze if a hose is left on, because the water cannot drain back.
• Heat tape made for pipes, installed to the instructions, helps a known cold spot. It is not a fix for a cabin with the heat turned off.

Seasonal cabins

A lot of Shuswap Lake places are empty from late fall to spring. Winterizing means shutting the water off, draining the lines, draining or bypassing the water heater, and taking care of toilet tanks and traps so they do not hold water. Pumping RV antifreeze into traps is common. The product has to be the kind made for plumbing, not the kind made for car engines. In spring, de-winterizing is the reverse, plus a check for splits before you open the main all the way. Open it slowly and walk the house while someone else watches the mechanical room.

If you are opening a cabin in Sicamous or along the lake and a line let go over winter, start with the Shuswap page and call. Travel to a seasonal property can affect the price. The plumber will say so. Typical call-out ranges are on the cost page, labelled as estimates, not quotes.