If your pipes have frozen, shut off the water at the main, open the nearest faucet, and warm the frozen section gradually with a hair dryer or heat tape, never an open flame. To stop it from happening again, keep cabinet doors open on cold nights, let faucets drip during a cold snap, and insulate any pipe that runs through an unheated space. In Lamoille County, where nights can sit below zero for days at a stretch, both the prevention and the thaw matter just as much.
How do you thaw frozen pipes without damaging them?
Warm the pipe slowly, from the faucet end toward the blockage, using a hair dryer, a space heater kept a safe distance away, or electric heat tape rated for the job. Never use an open flame, a propane torch, or anything that heats one spot fast, since a quick temperature swing is exactly what cracks a pipe that's already under pressure from the ice inside it.
Here's the order that keeps you safe and keeps the pipe intact:
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Shut off the water supply at the main valve before you do anything else. If the pipe has already cracked, this is what keeps a thaw from turning into a flood.
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Open the faucet connected to the frozen section. Running water, even a trickle, helps melt the ice from the inside and relieves pressure.
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Locate the frozen section. It's usually the coldest stretch: along an exterior wall, in a crawl space, or near an uninsulated spot in the basement.
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Apply heat gradually. A hair dryer on low, an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, or heat tape all work. Start near the faucet and move toward the blockage as that section clears.
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Keep checking the faucet. Once water runs freely at full pressure, you've cleared it. Let it run a few more minutes to flush any debris loosened during the thaw.
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Check the whole pipe run for cracks once it's thawed, before you consider the job done.
If you can't find the frozen section, can't get water moving at all, or you already see water pooling somewhere it shouldn't be, that's a job for a plumber, not a weekend project.
Why do pipes freeze in Vermont homes specifically?
Pipes freeze when the water inside sits still long enough to drop to 32 degrees, and that happens fastest in the three spots every Vermont home has somewhere: pipes along an exterior wall, pipes in an unheated crawl space or attic, and pipes under a kitchen or bathroom sink where cabinet doors trap cold air against the plumbing.
Vermont's stretch of nights at zero or below (not a once-a-winter event here, usually several per season in Lamoille County) means a pipe that's merely "a little exposed" in a milder climate is a real risk here. Older farmhouses and camps with minimal insulation in the crawl space are the most common calls we hear about every January and February.
How do you prevent frozen pipes before the cold hits?
Insulate any exposed pipe, seal the drafts that reach it, and keep a trickle of heat moving through the system on the coldest nights. The three moves below cover almost every frozen-pipe call Johnson Hardware & Rental hears about each winter:
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Insulate exposed pipes. Foam pipe sleeves slide on in minutes and cover the most common freeze points: under sinks, in crawl spaces, and along basement walls.
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Open cabinet doors under sinks on nights below 20 degrees. This lets the home's ambient heat reach pipes that are otherwise sealed off in a cold, closed cabinet.
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Let faucets drip during a hard freeze. Moving water, even a slow drip, is far more freeze-resistant than water sitting still.
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Seal gaps where pipes pass through exterior walls or framing. A small gap is enough to let in the draft that drops a pipe below freezing even when the room around it feels fine.
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For a pipe that's frozen every year no matter what, electric heat tape wrapped directly on the pipe and left plugged in through the worst of the season solves it for good.
What should you do with outdoor faucets and hose bibs before winter?
Disconnect the hose, drain the faucet, and shut off the interior valve that feeds it, if your home has one. An outdoor faucet left connected to a hose over the winter is one of the most common frozen-pipe calls we see, because the hose traps water right at the point where the line is most exposed.
If your faucet doesn't have a dedicated shutoff, a frost-proof hose bib cover is a five-minute fix that insulates the whole fixture for the season. Either way, this is a 10-minute job that's worth doing the same weekend you bring in the patio furniture.
Do you need a plumber, or can you handle it yourself?
Most frozen pipes, caught early, are a homeowner job: shut off the water, apply gentle heat, and wait it out. Call a plumber once you see or suspect a crack, once water is pooling somewhere unexpected, or once you can't locate the frozen section after a reasonable search.
A pipe that's been frozen for more than a day, especially one you can't see or reach easily, is more likely to have already cracked even if nothing has leaked yet. If you're not confident the pipe came through intact, it's worth a second opinion before you turn the water back on at full pressure.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to use a blow torch to thaw a frozen pipe? No. A torch heats one spot too fast, and a pipe already under pressure from trapped ice can crack or burst right where you're applying heat. Gradual heat from a hair dryer, heating pad, or heat tape is the safe method.
How long does it take for a frozen pipe to thaw on its own? It depends on how cold the space is and how long the pipe has been frozen, but waiting it out without applying any heat can take a full day or more, and the pipe stays at risk of cracking the whole time. Applying gentle heat directly speeds this up safely.
Can a frozen pipe thaw and reveal a leak that wasn't there before? Yes. Ice expanding inside a pipe can crack it without an immediate leak, since the ice itself is plugging the crack until it melts. That's why checking the full pipe run after a thaw matters, even if nothing is leaking yet.
What temperature does a pipe actually need to freeze? Water in a pipe can freeze once it sits at or below 32 degrees for long enough, but the real risk starts well before that. A pipe in an unheated space can be exposed to freezing temperatures for hours during a Vermont cold snap even when the thermostat inside the house reads 68.
Does homeowner's insurance cover a burst pipe? Most standard homeowner's policies cover sudden, accidental water damage from a burst pipe, but coverage details vary by policy and insurer. This isn't insurance advice, check your specific policy or ask your agent for how your coverage applies.
Will leaving the heat on low while I'm away prevent frozen pipes? Yes, in most cases. Keeping the thermostat at 55 degrees or higher, even in an empty house, is usually enough to keep interior pipes from freezing during normal winter weather. It's less reliable for pipes in an uninsulated crawl space or exterior wall during an extended hard freeze, which is where insulation and heat tape still matter even with the heat running.
A note from Johnson Hardware & Rental
We carry pipe insulation, heat tape, and rental space heaters locally, and during a hard freeze week in Lamoille County, having it on the shelf instead of waiting on a shipment is usually what saves the pipe. Stop in or call us at (802) 635-7282 if you want help picking the right insulation or heat tape for your setup, or to check on space heater rentals.