Speaking of You Health: Frozen water lines

With the extreme cold weather this winter, many homeowners are suffering with frozen water lines. There are many ways to defrost these lines but if you rely on a septic system, do not let the water run continuously. This water is very cold and could cause your plumbing to freeze.

Allowing faucets to drip can also add hundreds of gallons of water to a septic system that is not designed for this amount of water at a time when the ground cannot accept and dispose of a lot of water. This overload to the system could cause premature failure or even a frozen soil treatment area.

To avoid frozen water lines, which could cause pipes to break, try exposing them to warmer air. The Red Cross recommends the following:

Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage.

Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals out of the reach of children.

When the weather is very cold outside, let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe - even at a trickle - helps prevent pipes from freezing.

Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night. By temporarily suspending the use of lower nighttime temperatures, you may incur a higher heating bill, but you can prevent a much more costly repair job if pipes freeze and burst.

If you will be going away during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home, set to a temperature no lower than 55 degrees.

If your pipes do freeze, apply heat to the section of pipe using an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, a hair dryer, a portable space heater (kept away from flammable materials), or by wrapping pipes with towels soaked in hot water. Do not use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove, or other open flame device.

If you are unable to locate the frozen area, if the frozen area is not accessible, or if you cannot thaw the pipe, call a licensed plumber. Do not put antifreeze in these lines unless directed. Antifreeze is environmentally harmful and is dangerous to humans, pets, wildlife and landscaping.

In addition, salt or septic system additives should be avoided. Do not start a fire over the frozen lines to attempt to thaw it out. This can cause pipes to melt. Keep a close eye on any frozen pipe to make sure it has not broken or is leaking.

For more information about frozen pipes from the Red Cross, go to www.redcross.org. For more information about septic systems, please visit our website at www.hockingcountyhealthdepartment.com or contact the Health Department at 740-385-3030.

Brittney Tschudy, BSH, RN, TTS Hocking County Health Department, writes a weekly column published in The Logan Daily News. The views of this column may not necessarily reflect that of the newspaper.