Pipes frozen?
When the pipes are already frozen, you can start by trying to melt them with a fan. Seal the blower head with your hands and start the blower. Also open the tap. Suck for a couple of minutes and water should start to trickle out. From here you can continue melting by draining the water. A professional will usually melt the pipes with warm steam, which you can try if you have a hose cleaner at home. Under no circumstances, however, should open fires or heat guns be used. If you need professional help, contact 24 Center Customer Service on 0100 2470
In Finland, winters have become quite unstable over the past decade: this week it may be zero degrees, but next week it will be well below freezing. This kind of temperature change wears out pipes many times over. Many people might think that a mild winter is nice; no snow work, lighter equipment for the yard and no frozen pipes.
Freezing pipes is mainly a nuisance and an annoyance that makes life more difficult for a while. It mainly affects people living in detached houses, especially in older properties. But in the worst frosts, pipes can freeze on anyone's house. And freezing pipes is not always a small matter: water is an exciting substance because, unlike many other chemical compounds, it expands when it changes from a liquid to a solid, i.e. when it freezes. So pipes in ice can lead to burst pipes, and then you're looking at a bit of a major repair.
It is therefore worth thinking in advance about how to prevent pipes from freezing and what to do when they are already frozen. It's not a good idea to go to a professional right away, because doing small things in advance will make things a lot easier and a professional will tell you the same things. A plumber can get the pipes unblocked if they are not yet frozen, but if the pipes have frozen completely you may need steam blowing with a high pressure blower.
Prevention is the best policy
Homeowners should find out where the so-called "house pipe" runs. This is the pipe where water enters the house and is the first to freeze in freezing temperatures. When frosty nights arrive, the tap closest to the house pipe should be opened and the water allowed to run. To conserve resources, it's best to run cold water, but not dripping - running water is the only way to prevent the pipes from freezing in the morning. An average of 10 litres of water is drained overnight, and after a week of draining, the average water bill has risen by ten. This is small compared to the cost of repairing a burst pipe, which starts at €500. Of course, you can also collect the drained water if you have a container big enough.
Insulation of pipes is also important. Care must be taken to minimise temperature fluctuations in the pipes. This is beyond the tenant's control, but it is worth finding out if the landlord has done anything to the insulation since the house was built and if there have been any problems with frozen pipes.
A thawing cable is a great help if the pipes have frozen in the past and the risk of freezing is particularly high. The cable can be installed either inside or around the water pipe. Either way, the principle of operation is the same: the cable heats the pipe enough to prevent the water from freezing. Such a cable can be obtained for a few tens of euros, which is cheap insurance compared with a burst pipe costing several hundred euros.
You can also search for nearby plumbers on the website: https://www.loydaputkimies.fi
