Thawing of water and sewer pipes. Defrost plastic pipes How to defrost plastic pipes

In winter, freezing plumbing and heating pipes are a common problem. This can happen if the required standards were not met during the laying of the pipeline and technological standards were violated. Regardless of the root cause of the problem, the question arises: how to defrost a water pipe?

Consider some of the causes of ice plugs in the water supply:

• the water supply was laid at insufficient depth;
• incorrectly performed work on thermal insulation of pipes;
• pipe diameter is incorrectly selected;
• worn pipes.

How to prevent plumbing from freezing

• when laying water pipes, it is necessary to take into account the depth of soil freezing in a given area and dig a trench below this level;
• the pipeline should be placed away from concrete and reinforced concrete structures, as they are subject to freezing stronger than the soil;
• in places where pipes enter the building, good thermal insulation should be made, most often, mineral and glass wool are used;
• it is better if the diameter of the outer pipes is more than 50 mm - the more water in the pipe, the longer it will freeze;
• piping can be done with an electrical cable that will heat the pipes at dangerously low temperatures.

If it was not possible to prevent freezing, you should start defrosting the water supply.

This can be done in several ways, all of which can be divided into two categories:

1. Impact outside.
2. Warming up from the inside.

Regardless of the choice of pipe defrosting method, several rules must be observed:

• it is necessary to determine as accurately as possible the frozen section of the pipe and its length;
• all valves must be open so that the thawed water has an outlet;
• it is necessary to start warming the pipe from an open tap and further to the riser;
• sewer pipes, on the contrary, are heated from the riser in the direction of the septic tank.

Methods for defrosting water pipes through exposure to the outside

In such cases, prolonged heating of the pipe surface and further heat exchange between the pipe itself and the ice inside are carried out.

Boiling water or just hot water. The frozen section of the pipe is wrapped with foam rubber or rags that absorb water, and poured with boiling water, constantly maintaining the temperature of the rags or foam rubber, and, accordingly, the pipe. This method is used in open sections of the pipeline: in basements, at the entrance to a building, etc. Well suited for metal pipes, as metal is an excellent heat conductor.

Building hair dryer. The pipe heats up under the influence of hot air. It is necessary to blow the pipe from all sides. In order not to lose heat, something like a pavilion can be made around the pipe, for example, from a plastic film. When heating a plastic pipe in this way, it is important to carefully monitor the heating process so that the pipeline does not melt. If the pipe freezing area is small, a conventional fan heater or a household hair dryer will do. If the pipe has bends, narrowings, entrances to the fittings, they also need to be heated.

Blowtorch or gas burner. This method requires special attention due to the high risk of fire.

Electrical heating cable or electrical heating tape. The safest and no less effective way to defrost pipes. The cable must be wound around the pipe in a spiral and connected to a power source. This method is only suitable for open pipes.

Defrost unit or welding transformer. Two wires, positive and negative, are connected to different ends of a frozen section of a metal pipe, an electric current heats the water and the ice plug melts. The time spent on heating metal water pipes using a welding transformer is minimal.

Methods for defrosting water pipes through exposure from the inside

All the methods described above are good for metal pipes, but are not suitable for plastic. Therefore, there are methods "from the inside". The most important thing is to find the nearest detachable connection in order to disconnect the frozen section from the remaining highway.

Two-core copper wire. The principle of operation is similar to a boiler. The cores of the wire are separated and exposed. Then each must be twisted into a small spiral (from 3 to 5 turns), it is better to make one core a little shorter so that the spirals do not touch and there is no short circuit. Next, the wire must be brought into the pipe and plugged into the outlet. An electric current passing through water heats it up well.

Hot water. A laborious process that requires patience, but at minimal cost. The hose must be thinner than the pipe. It is inserted into the disconnected pipe until it stops in the ice plug and filled with hot water. As the ice melts, the hose moves forward. Be sure to need a container for thawed water. On straight sections of the pipeline, it is better to use a metal-plastic tube; for bends, a flexible hose is more suitable: gas or oxygen.

"Mug of Esmarch" - in a popular way an enema. In addition to it, a rigid wire and a hose from the hydraulic level. The wire is attached to the tube (with adhesive tape, electrical tape, whatever), the Esmarch mug is connected to the hydraulic level tube on one side, and the other is pushed into the water pipe to the ice plug. Next, the mug is raised higher and hot water is poured into it. As the ice thaws, the hydraulic level hose must be advanced further until it is completely defrosted. This method is suitable for underground pipes.

Special equipment for preventive washing of water and sewer pipes. Utilities have it, you can call specialists at home.

All methods of defrosting pipes have their own advantages and disadvantages and take a lot of time. To avoid possible problems with the water supply, it is better to adhere to all technological norms for laying pipes in advance.

Video

This video shows how pipes are defrosted with a burner:

See how you can defrost a water pipe with steam:

In winter, it is not uncommon for water pipes to freeze in private homes. If pipelines are laid underground, then most often the reasons are insufficient deepening and insulation of pipelines in combination with stagnation in pipes. If pipes located in the walls freeze, then this phenomenon can occur due to very severe frosts. In any case, the owner of the house needs to know how to defrost the water pipes in a private house. Below we will look at how to eliminate ice plugs in metal and plastic lines.

It is not enough to know how to unfreeze a pipe underground. First you need to find the immediate place of freezing. This can be done in a simple and proven way. Shut off the water supply to the water supply. After that, it is necessary to unscrew any detachable connection that is located after the tap. A plumbing cable is launched into the opened hole. It is gradually introduced into the pipeline until its end rests against an ice plug.

This will be the place of freezing. To mark its position on the outside of the pipe, the cable can simply be applied to the ground for the same length as it entered the pipe. In this place, you should look for a place of freezing. In such a simple way, you can find the right place in a pipe made of any material.

Methods for defrosting pipelines

Of no small importance when defrosting pipes is the material from which it is made. It depends on how the pipeline is affected.

Defrosting metal pipes

Consider how to defrost metal water pipes in a private house. Usually they pass underground, so there are certain difficulties in digging a trench in winter, although their location in open areas is also possible. After the pipeline is exposed, it is affected in the following ways:

• Use an open flame. For example, from a gas burner or blowtorch. You can also make a fire on a frozen section of the pipe;
• Use a welding transformer. One wire from it is connected to one frozen section of the pipe, and the second wire to the second. The ice plug melts very quickly;
• Pipes are poured with boiling water, after wrapping them with rags.

Important: In the process of defrosting the pipeline, the water taps must be kept open. This is necessary for the free flow of defrosted water from the pipes.

It is easier to defrost a sewer pipe, since all the melted ice will go into the drain, and the situation is reversed with the water supply. The freed water will have nowhere to go, so it is advisable to disconnect the pipe from the taps or at least open the taps.

How to defrost plastic pipes

Plastic pipes require a more careful attitude due to the lower strength of the material. Let's figure out how to defrost water in a plastic pipe that is in plain sight:

We considered the heating of an open section of the pipeline. And how to defrost a water plastic pipe underground? There are also several ways to do this:

1. Hot water supply. The plastic pipe is disconnected from the tap. In some large container, for example, a barrel, water is heated. A smaller diameter hose is used that freely enters the pipe. It is pushed inside the pipe until it reaches the frozen area. After that, hot water is supplied to the pipeline. This can be done with a pressure pump.

The melted water will gradually flow out of the pipe along with the hot water supplied. The end of the hose should be pushed further and further until all the ice plug is eliminated. After that, water will flow under strong pressure.

Tip: Plastic or metal-plastic pipes should be pre-insulated in open areas to avoid additional ice plugs.

2. The use of a steam generator. The plastic pipe is disconnected from the taps. A special sleeve from the steam generator with a special nozzle at the end is introduced into it. It is injected until it reaches the frozen area. Steam is fed through the sleeve into the pipe, quickly melting the ice. As the frozen plug melts, the sleeve moves deeper into the pipe. With such a device, there is no question of how to defrost a pipe located in a wall or underground.

3. Use of electricity. This method works on the principle of heating water with a boiler. To do this, stock up on a thick two-wire wire of sufficient length. The veins are separated. Each of them is released from insulation, and then twisted. Two thick twists are obtained, located at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. It is impossible to allow the possibility of their connection with each other in order to avoid the occurrence of a short circuit.

The wire is pushed inside the pipe to the place of the plug. After that, the end of the wire is connected to the mains. The melting of ice occurs due to its heating by electric current. In this case, the plastic walls do not heat up, since only the conductive water is heated. As the ice melts, the wire moves further along the pipeline.

4. Hydrodynamic cleaning. With the help of a hydrodynamic machine, any ice plug in the pipe can be eliminated. Hot water is supplied to it under pressure through a special nozzle, which contributes to the destruction of ice in a very short time. As the plug breaks, the hose with the nozzle moves further along the pipe. It should be noted that such equipment is mainly in the hands of specialists due to its high cost.

5. Another way to defrost the water supply is shown in the photo.

Freeze Prevention

We looked at how to defrost polypropylene pipes (and pipes made from other types of plastic) or metal pipelines. Equally important is the prevention of freezing of pipelines. The occurrence of this unpleasant situation can be avoided if you follow some rules:

We have analyzed the main ways to get rid of ice plugs in water pipes. However, it is much easier to prevent freezing of water in pipelines than to fix problems later.

How to warm a pipe in the ground? In winter, the water in the pipelines often freezes. This can happen for various reasons. For example, if the depth of the pipeline is insufficient or the insulation is inefficiently performed. Freezing of the pipeline can occur in winter with very severe frosts. The pipeline, to which there is access, is easy to defrost. For example, it can be defrosted with a household hair dryer. But what to do with pipes that lie underground far from home?

Metal defrosting

If the pipeline is frozen at the entrance to the building, you can simply heat the wall. But there are times when a water pipe froze 10-20 meters from the house. If it is made of metal, warm it up quickly enough. This requires a welding machine. It must be connected to different ends of the pipeline.

By heating with a welding machine, it is possible to defrost the water in the pipe in 3-4 hours.

The duration of the work depends on the length of the pipeline.

Heating up the plastic

How to defrost a plastic pipe? Currently, plastic structures are made that can withstand pressure up to 10 atmospheres, easily tolerate freezing and are not subject to corrosion. Plastic pipes do not conduct electricity, which means that it is impossible to defrost them using a welding machine. Breaking through the ice mechanically with steel wire will also fail. Often the length of the frozen area is more than 5 m. Therefore, the only way out is to melt the ice with hot water. If hot water is simply poured into the pipeline, then the ice plug will not melt from this, and hot water will not go inside.

Therefore, hot water must be supplied directly to the area of ​​​​the ice jam. This can be done with a smaller diameter pipe. For example, if plastic pipes have a diameter of 32 mm, the section on which the ice plug is located is straight, the pipe must be made of metal-plastic with a diameter of 16 mm. It is necessary to straighten a pipe of a smaller diameter and shove it into the pipeline until it reaches the ice plug.

Then hot water is poured into a smaller pipe. Cold water will flow in the gap between the smaller and larger pipe. This water can be used, it is heated and poured back into the system. It is necessary that the ice plug thaw. As the ice plug gets smaller, you need to push the smaller pipe further.

If the plumbing has sharp bends, then a rigid hose can be used. A simple watering hose won't work for this because the hot water will soften it and it won't be possible to push it further. Therefore, you can use the oxygen hose that gas cylinders serve. It has sufficient rigidity, but it can be stretched from the input only 15 m. It moves along the pipeline with difficulty, as it is too heavy.

First way

How to defrost a pipe correctly? If the pipe has 2-3 turns and is frozen 20 m from the house, a more efficient technique can be applied.

Materials and tools:

• Esmarch's irrigator;
• hardened steel wire 2 mm;
• building hydraulic level.

First, the hydraulic level tube is leveled, with its help the steel wire is leveled. Then the end of the wire is screwed with electrical tape to the hydraulic level. The end of the wire can be bent for greater strength. It is necessary that the wire does not stick out and that the end of the tube protrudes 1 cm in front of it. After that, the hydraulic level is connected at the other end to Esmarch's mug. The wire with the tube is pushed into the water pipe until it reaches the ice plug.

The hydraulic level tube has a small diameter and weighs little. Therefore, it easily passes in the pipeline and overcomes all turns. After that, the water is heated and fed into the pipeline using Esmarch's mug. Substitute a bucket under the water pipe. How much hot water is poured in, the same amount of cold water exits the pipeline. The wire with the tube is pushed through as the ice plug melts. This kind of work takes a long time. It takes 1 hour per 1 m of frozen system. Therefore, to defrost 6 m of pipe, you need to work all day. Pour at least 10 liters of hot water. Then push the tube. This method is often used in practice and leads to positive results.

Second method

Materials and tools:

• two-core copper wire;
• plug for socket;
• fuel hose for diesel engines with a diameter of 8 mm;
• compressor.

Take a two-core copper wire and remove the insulation from it. Of the two wires inside, one is exposed, and the other is bent along the wire in the opposite direction. Then 5 turns are made with a bare wire at the very edge of the wire. Then, at a distance of 3 mm from the end of the turns, another wire is exposed and wound in a similar way. Make sure that the wires do not touch each other. Otherwise, a short circuit may occur.

Attach the plug to the other end of the wire. This is how a heating device is made. When the device is turned on, current passes through the water. As a result, a reaction occurs and a significant amount of heat is released. During operation of the device, only water is heated, and the wires do not heat up. Due to this, penetration of the plastic pipeline cannot occur.

It is necessary to put the wire into the pipe until it hits the ice plug, do not press hard so that it does not bend. After that, plug the device into a socket and press on the wire. The heating process starts. The excess water can then be selected by the compressor to spend less time warming up the water. The product will be defrosted after a sufficiently long time. A pipe with a turn is sometimes thawed for several days.

After the pipe is thawed, care must be taken that it does not freeze again. To do this, it is necessary that a certain volume of water constantly pass through it. Therefore, it is necessary to open the tap more often and use more water. At night, you need to leave a thin stream of water in the tap. As long as the water flows through the pipes, the risk of re-freezing is reduced.

To avoid freezing of water in the pipeline, it is necessary, when laying pipes, to place them at a depth that is below the freezing level of the soil. After laying the pipeline must be insulated. Then the pipes will not freeze in winter.

Many times I told many people about the technologies for manufacturing engineering systems in private homes. And all the time he paid attention to the fact that pipelines must be laid below the freezing point or carefully insulated. However, from time to time I am approached with questions about how to defrost a plastic water pipe.

I remember a case when in mid-January a neighbor in the dacha called me and tearfully asked to fix the water supply. As it turned out, he planned to spend the anniversary outside the city, and when he arrived at the site after a long stay in warm countries, he was faced with the fact that water was not flowing from the taps. And all the complex electronics that provide water to the cottage also do not work.

As it turned out, the ice plug was to blame, which clogged a metal-plastic pipe laid underground. And since he could only sign business papers with his own hands, he had to call me for help.

Of course, we coped with the problem, and I turned out to be the most honored guest at his holiday. I decided to tell you about how to defrost plastic pipes for water supply and sewerage. Suddenly, the instruction below will be of invaluable help to you. Especially when a reliable plumber friend is not around.

Causes of pipeline freezing

In my practice, I very rarely met people who make or order modern engineering networks (water supply, sewerage) from steel pipes. More common plastic.

And that I think is right, because the price of pipes made of polymers is constantly decreasing, and the operational properties of such a solution have always been at their best:

• plastic pipelines have an attractive appearance;
• pipes are not subject to corrosion during the entire period of operation;
• to mount the engineering network as simply as possible without the use of electric welding (maximum - a soldering iron);
• pipes do not conduct electricity and do not accumulate static electricity.

The only thing that cannot be got rid of under any circumstances is the danger of freezing the liquid in them. However, I know for sure that people encounter this trouble only in those cases when they entrusted the installation to an illiterate engineer.

Only such a person can lay a water pipe at an insufficient depth in the ground or fail to insulate the engineering system. As a result, you come to the cottage to celebrate your birthday, and nothing flows from the tap. Sadness.

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to dig a deep enough trench for the water and sewer pipes. The average depth of soil freezing in the Moscow area is 1.4 meters. However, this indicator depends on many other factors, therefore, to determine the exact value, it is better to contact specialists or use special maps with tables.

By the way, many people ask why central water pipes in cities do not freeze. I will answer without hesitation. There, the flow of water does not stop around the clock, so the liquid is in motion does not turn into ice.

And in the country, pumping equipment is turned on only from time to time. Therefore, it is imperative to take measures to insulate water transport pipes.

Pay special attention to the insulation and deepening of drain systems where water flows at a low speed. Otherwise, a plug will form and you will have to decide how to defrost a plastic sewer pipe. This is hard work and far from pleasant.

If for some reason it is not possible to dig a ditch of a suitable depth, it is necessary to wrap the pipes in heat-insulating materials or come up with systems for heating them. Or use both.

If you know that your pipes are poorly insulated, and at night they promise very severe frost, leave the water turned on for the night to ensure the flow in the pipe.
In this case, the probability of ice formation is significantly reduced.

But it often happens that people return to the issues of pipe insulation only when they are already faced with freezing water. There is nothing left, you have to melt the ice. I will tell you about this now.

Defrosting water transport communications made of plastic

Underground

First, let's figure out how to defrost a plastic water pipe underground. This, in my opinion, is the most time-consuming and lengthy process. Especially in winter, when not only the water in the pipes froze, but the very ground where they were laid.

The simplest scheme is as follows:

1. Above the place where the plastic pipe passes, it is necessary to kindle a fire. You can use wood or coal, as well as set fire to a car tire. The latter will burn for a long time, but emit black smoky smoke. Consider this.

The advantage of this method is that not only the water in the pipe should heat up, but the earth itself should also thaw. And we need this in order to move on to the next point of our work.

1. Then I advise you to dig up the pipe to see if it is damaged. This will be easy to do, as the fire softens the ground and it will be easier to swing the shovel.
   Usually high-quality plastic pipes do not burst with ice, so nothing needs to be repaired. The main thing is not to break the pipe already during excavations.
2. After making sure of the integrity of communications, I recommend insulating the pipeline with heat-insulating materials or laying it. If this is not done, then personally I will not give a guarantee that after filling the trench with earth, the water in the pipe will not freeze again.

If you once encountered water freezing, I recommend redoing the engineering system in the summer. After all, your friend will not always come to the rescue in time and dig out this pipe. It will be necessary to either deepen the trenches or insulate the water transport system along its entire length.

By the way, once someone told me that he insulated pipes with empty plastic bottles. The scheme is this:

• dig a pit and check the pipe;
• you take more plastic bottles, wrap corks so that there is air inside;
• you wrap them around the pipe;
• cover everything with earth.

The bottom line here is that the air inside has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity and will not allow the water in the pipes to freeze.

What can I say. In my opinion, you will spend more time collecting bottles than working. Better go to the store and buy basalt shells. It will be clean, tidy, efficient and not very expensive.

And lately I have resorted to all sorts of folk recipes less and less. Unless he himself is confident in their effectiveness.

Another way to eliminate ice blockage is to use hot water. There are several downsides that I can see:

• you will have to disassemble the plumbing system somewhere in order to fill it with water;
• the pipe will remain uninsulated and the liquid may freeze again at any time;
• the method will not work if the ice is at a great distance from the place where you are going to pour boiling water.

However, sometimes I resorted to this method. To make it more effective, I will give some of my own tips that have been formed in the process of work:

1. If your cottage is connected to the central water supply, do not block the taps. Additional pressure from the central water carrier can help break the plug.
2. If water comes from a pumping station (that is, a well or a well), the equipment must be turned off. Otherwise, you will ruin expensive and electronics, as the water will leave the pipes.
3. You can understand that the plug has been eliminated by the fact that the water poured into the pipe will all go away.

Another proven method that I sometimes used to thaw pipes. It must be implemented carefully, as you can get an electric shock. Nevertheless, I will describe the technology, all of a sudden you will not have another way to fix the problem.

The scheme is this:

1. I take an electric wire, separate one core from another and remove part of the insulation. Then I twist one wire into a spiral. I do the same with the second vein, but the twist should be placed a little behind, about two centimeters.
   It is very important here to make sure that these twists do not move in the process of work and do not come into contact with each other. This may result in a short circuit and electric shock. So be very careful to secure the ends of the wire.
2. I put the tool prepared in this way into the pipe until it rests on the ice plug.
3. After that, the wire must be connected to an electrical outlet. The heating of the liquid inside the pipe will occur due to the potential difference on the twists. The walls of the pipe will not melt, the water temperature will not rise to this level in any case.
4. As you thaw, you need to move your device inward until the patency of the engineering system is fully restored.

Remember that thawed water must be drained all the time, otherwise it may freeze again.

There are also special devices for thawing pipes. We are talking about steam generators, autoclaves and hydrodynamic devices. It is not necessary to buy them, it is enough to rent the necessary unit in a specialized building supermarket.

The work is as follows:

1. steam generator. It is necessary to place the hose of the device inside the pipe and put steam under pressure into it. Given that the temperature of the medium is much higher than the boiling point of the liquid, the defrosting process will be very fast, and the plastic will not be damaged.
2. Autoclave. Steam is also used here, but the principle of operation is somewhat different. First, water is heated in a container until steam is formed from it. Then a hose is inserted into the water pipe (up to the ice plug), the second end of which is connected to the autoclave.
   As the ice thaws, the hose must be moved along the pipe until the water flows in the direction you need.
3. hydrodynamic machine. It destroys ice not with temperature, but with a jet of liquid injected under high pressure. As a result, the cork can be disposed of very quickly and effectively.

And if someone tells you to just bend the wire and break through the ice, don't do it. So you are very likely to damage the plastic shell of the pipeline itself, but not the ice plug.

Elevated

As you understand, defrosting plastic pipes laid openly (for example, in a basement, pantry or other unheated room) is much easier. Here you do not need the help of a specialist at all. Especially if you follow my advice.

The easiest way to heat is with a building hair dryer or other similar heat source. By directing the air flow to the engineering system, you gradually heat up the walls of the pipes, which give off their thermal energy to the water. And the ice is melting.

By the way, a hair dryer can be replaced with an ordinary heater, which is placed near the pipe.

You have probably seen how metal pipelines are heated with blowtorches. So, this method of heating is categorically not suitable for plastic. The polymer has a very low melting point (about 140 degrees), so the flame from a gas or gasoline burner will melt not only the ice, but the pipe along with it.

Naturally, an obligatory step in any defrosting is the insulation of pipes or the installation of heating elements that maintain the required temperature of the liquid. I offer several options to choose from:

1. Take mineral mats and wrap the pipes with them. From above, it is imperative to protect all this with a waterproofing material to avoid moisture and some kind of protective cocoon. Suitable roofing material, which will cope with both tasks.

1. Buy and fix special shells made of foam plastic, basalt fiber, polyethylene foam and so on on pipes. The easiest option. They are mounted quickly and easily, without the use of special tools.

1. Wrap the pipe with a heating electric cable. This method is suitable for heating ice, and for preventing its further formation. It is only necessary to ensure that the cable is constantly connected to the electrical network.

And it is best to wrap the pipes with a cable, and then with a heater. The combination of these methods will provide you with drinking water at any time of the year, regardless of the temperature "overboard".

Defrosting a sewer pipe

Separately, I will tell you about the method of removing the plug from the drain pipe of the external sewer system of a private house. It is this problem that most residents of private country houses face.

So, to fix the problem you will need:

• hard steel wire;
• hydraulic level (dense polymeric flexible tube);
• Esmarch's irrigator;
• a bucket for collecting dirty liquid;
• hot water.

I fixed a similar problem like this:

1. He removed a piece of the sewer pipe, opening access to the branch pipe connecting the internal and external sewer systems of the house.
2. He leveled the steel wire and taped a hydraulic level to it with electrical tape, through which hot water would flow into the pipe.
3. Then he put all this device into the sewer pipe, and attached Esmarch's mug to the opposite end of the pipe.
4. After that, with the help of an impromptu pump, he began to pump hot water inside, gradually moving the device inside the pipe.
5. Excess water and thawed sewage poured out through the neck. I collected them in a pre-set bucket.
6. As soon as the water stops flowing out, it means that the cork has thawed and the engineering system can be assembled.

As in the case of plumbing, to avoid freezing the drain, you need to lay pipes at the right depth or insulate them with heat-insulating materials. It is better to spend time and money on this in the summer than to dig through the waste in the winter, on the eve of your birthday.

Regardless of the chosen method of defrosting and the method of laying pipes, I will give a few more tips that must be followed when thawing pipes:

• if you know exactly where the ice plug is located, you do not need to heat this particular section of pipes from the middle;
• to ensure the outflow of melted water, it is necessary to open the water tap;
• I recommend starting the thawing procedure from the consumer (consumable tap) to the water intake source (vertical riser).

Conclusion

There are a lot of ways to defrost pipes, and everyone who has encountered a similar problem knows their own way of thawing ice. I would be glad if you shared it with our readers by describing it in the comments to this article.

And for everyone, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the video in this article, where you can find many other tips regarding the operation of the engineering systems of a residential building.

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, ask the author something - add a comment or say thanks!

Low temperatures in winter become the causes of unpleasant moments associated with the water supply at home. If you approach the laying of water pipes illiterately, then in winter the question is, the water has frozen in a private house - what to do will occur quite often. Moreover, there are always situations related to track accidents. This is a pipe rupture, if it is steel, a rupture of valves. And if this problem can be dealt with quickly with minimal costs in summer, then in winter everything becomes more complicated. Therefore, it is very important to carry out the correct installation in the first place. And there is only one condition here - to insulate the pipelines or lay it below the freezing level of the soil.

Frozen home plumbing

How to defrost pipes

It should be noted that the water supply network consists of two sections: external (external), it is also most often underground and internal. As for the latter, the main part of the route is laid inside heated premises, so the question of whether the water has frozen in a private house - what to do, is not appropriate here. But partly the internal water supply also passes through unheated premises. For example, in the basement and in the attic. This is where pipes can freeze. How to defrost them?

There are several options. We will take into account that plastic pipes were laid inside the house.

• You can use hot water to defrost. To do this, first wrap the pipe with a rag, and only then pour boiling water on it. The process can take several hours, everything will depend on the length of the frozen area.
  
  Hot water defrosting
• You can use a hair dryer (construction or household). A very effective option, but requiring a certain approach to the process itself. The thing is, especially with a building hair dryer, that the air from the device comes out at a high enough temperature that can melt the plastic. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately set the distance from the nozzle of the hair dryer to the surface of the pipe.
  We use a hair dryer
• You can use a heating cable for defrosting, which fits into the electric floor heating system or a special cable for plumbing systems. They are wrapped around a frozen section of the track and plugged into an outlet. This is the fastest option. Usually in this way it is possible to defrost a sufficiently long water supply in 2-3 hours.

Attention! Before defrosting the water in a private house, it is recommended to open all the valves on the route completely. Water from defrosting must move freely through the pipeline and flow out of the taps.

Unfreezing pipes underground

It is clear that water pipes located in the ground are more difficult to defrost. The easiest of all options is to dig out the place where they were laid, get to the track and apply one of the methods described above. But there are several problems here.

1. Digging frozen ground is not easy. It will take a lot of time, effort and labor. In any case, the owner of the house cannot do this on his own.
2. There is always a chance that when digging a trench, you can damage the plastic pipe. And this is another problem that will have to be solved immediately.

Therefore, it is better to use alternative options. One effective defrosting method is using hot water. True, for this you have to prepare. First, you need a supply of the water itself, which must be heated. The easiest way to do this without spending a lot of money is to set up a barrel under which to build a fire. Secondly, it is necessary to somehow organize the supply of water into the plumbing system. To do this, it is best to install a small electric pump at the inlet. It is even better if hot water is poured into a hose of a smaller diameter than the route, which will need to be pushed into the pipeline.

Defrosting a water pipe with hot water

That is, the hose is pushed to the ice plug, then hot water is pumped into it. It quickly melts the ice, and the hose must be moved further as the track thaws. As soon as water flows out of the tap with great pressure, that's it - the ice plug has melted. It should be noted that this option for defrosting the water supply is one of the most effective. True, you prepare for it longer than you produce the process itself.

Applying electricity

Another option that answers the question of how to heat water in a private house. For this, electricity is used. It is necessary to immediately make a reservation that the use of electric current is always a dangerous business. Therefore, it is not recommended to use this option for defrosting the water supply. But, as an alternative, you need to know it.

For this, a conventional two-wire wire is used, the cores of which must be disconnected and stripped for a length of 20 cm, that is, freed from insulation. The bare wire is twisted to a size of 8-10 cm.

Attention! It is impossible to allow both bare wires to be connected to each other. This will lead to a short circuit, so it is imperative to install a jumper between them, preferably a wooden one. Its size should be less than the diameter of the water pipe.

Now the prepared two-wire wire is pushed into the pipeline to the ice plug. After that, it is connected to a 220 volt supply network. The water inside the pipe begins to boil and defrost the ice. In fact, the forked wire acts as a heating element. As it thaws, it will need to be moved inward.

We use steam

And a few more alternatives that use steam. It should be noted that they are used infrequently only because installations that produce steam are not cheap pleasure.

steam generator

• Use of a steam generator. His hose is inserted into the pipeline, where steam is pumped.
• Using an autoclave. This is an installation that works on the basis of boiling water. The process itself is exactly the same as in the case of the steam generator. That is, a hose connected to an autoclave is inserted into the water pipe, through which steam from boiling water enters the route.
• The use of a hydrodynamic machine. This is a professional equipment, which is based on the process of heating water and supplying it under pressure inside the water line.

All three options are very effective. If the water inlet to the house or the entire route is frozen, then with their help it is possible to warm the pipes in a few minutes.

So, the answer to the question was given, the water in the house froze - what to do? In the proposed technologies, there are very simple methods that do not require large expenditures, there are quite serious options based on the use of special equipment. If the problem is not very big, then you can get by with small funds. If everything is very difficult, then it is better to call specialists. They will not only solve the problem of defrosting, but also help prevent subsequent troubles.

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