What to Do About Frozen Pipes: A Guide for Brainerd’s Coldest Days
Winters in Brainerd are no joke. With months of extreme cold weather comes a significant risk of frozen pipes. It’s important to take steps to prevent frozen pipes, especially for cabin owners who may not discover the damage until their next weekend up north.
Luckily, Schroeder’s Home Services has been helping homeowners and cabin owners keep their properties in excellent shape since 1960. We’re ready for everything Brainerd winters bring, because we’ve seen it all. Read on for our best emergency response steps, prevention tasks, and cabin winterization tips, and call us if you need an emergency plumber this winter, or anytime, throughout the Brainerd Lakes area.
Signs Your Pipes Might Be Frozen
Sometimes, it isn’t obvious that your pipes are frozen. But with careful inspection and knowledge of what to look for, you can see the signs for yourself. Here’s how to tell if pipes are frozen in the exterior or interior of your home:
- There’s little or no water flow through any faucets
- You can see frost on exposed pipes (like in crawl spaces or exterior walls)
- You smell strange odors coming from the drains
At What Temperature Do Pipes Freeze?
While pipes can freeze at any point below 32°F, they’re most likely to freeze when temperatures dip below 20°F. If you’ve experienced that temperature or lower for many hours, or even days, you should be extra vigilant for signs of frozen pipes. Uninsulated areas like attics, crawl spaces, or exterior walls are most at risk.
Will Homeowner’s Insurance Cover Frozen Pipes?
Most homeowner’s insurance covers damage from burst frozen pipes. The catch is that you must have taken reasonable care to prevent freezing before the burst, and it often doesn’t cover pipe repair itself, just the resulting damage.
What to Do If You Suspect Frozen Pipes
Before calling a plumber for frozen pipes, see if you can diagnose and fix the problem yourself. If you catch the frozen pipes early enough, you can often prevent a hefty plumbing bill. Try these tactics first:
- Shut off the water line to prevent burst pipe damage
- Open faucets slightly to relieve pressure
- Safely begin thawing frozen sections (using tools like a hair dryer or heating pad—not open flame)
If you’re not seeing success using these methods, or you’re not physically available to maintain your cabin or vacation home’s plumbing, call a trusted local plumber like Schroeder’s.
How to Thaw Frozen Pipes Safely
First, you’ll want to increase the temperature in your home to help thawing methods work more effectively. Then, we recommend using a room-by-room approach to thawing pipes. Work your way from the bathroom to the kitchen to the basement to any crawl space (in any order you’d like) to stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed.
Start by opening the faucet, then apply constant heat to the frozen section, starting at the faucet end and working towards the blockage. Hair dryers, space heaters, heating blankets, or hot, damp towels are common tools homeowners usually have on hand. If the frozen pipe is inside a wall or in another inaccessible area, consider cutting into the drywall if possible.
When to call a plumber: If you notice signs of a potential pipe burst, including bulging/cracks, banging/whistling sounds, a slow trickle of water, or no water at all when opening a faucet, you should call a plumber immediately. These are signals that you’re dealing with a major ice blockage, and the pressure buildup can cause your pipe to burst.
How Long Does It Take to Thaw Pipes?
Expect to spend anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours thawing a pipe, depending on the method you use and the amount and solidity of the frozen water. If you have multiple frozen pipes in your home, the thawing process can take several hours to days. In this case, calling a professional can be the best choice for your time and money.
How Much Does It Cost to Repair Frozen Pipes?
Your final frozen pipe repair cost depends on the pipe material and size, the severity of the freeze or burst, the location in the home, and local labor rates. PVC pipes tend to be cheaper to repair, while pipes made of fiberglass, copper, or cast iron tend to be more expensive. In-wall pipes will be less costly, except in the kitchen, where plumbers have to work around cabinetry, but underground and exterior pipes tend to be the most expensive repairs. In all, you can expect to spend between $200 and $5,000.
How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in Brainerd
Save yourself the headache and the emergency plumbing fees by taking precautions before the frigid temperatures hit. Follow these frozen pipe prevention tips now, and you’ll thank yourself later:
- Insulate pipes, especially in exterior walls
- Seal crawl spaces
- Let faucets drip
- If you own a vacation home, keep the temperature at a reasonable level even when you’re not there. We recommend installing a smart thermostat for remote cabin management in any weather.
Join Schroeder’s Home Care Plan
Regularly maintaining your plumbing can help protect against future freezes and bursts. Make the job easier by having the pros at Schroeder’s do it instead. Our various maintenance membership plans include annual tune-ups, water quality site surveys, vouchers, priority scheduling, and more. For just a small monthly fee, you can leave the proactive protection to us and stress less, whether you’re a local homeowner or a cabin owner hours away.
Local Help When You Need It Most
Schroeder’s is your trusted local plumber in Brainerd and beyond. We answer the phones 24/7, so you’ll never be left without help in a plumbing emergency. All of our work, from A/C and heating to duct cleaning and water quality, is backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee and our decades of local experience.
If you suspect frozen pipes, don’t wait – call Schroeder’s Home Services or click the Schedule Service button at the top of the page now for excellent frozen pipe repair.
