Photo taken by David Nelson Over a period of time water dripped from a break in a hose bib at a home in Escanaba creating an ice mound.

ESCANABA — The forecast for the days ahead shows Old Man Winter has set in comfortably for the season. If precautions are not taken, prolonged sub-zero temperatures can lead to frozen pipes in your home.

There are three reasons a pipe may freeze — a sudden drop in temperature, poor insulation around the area, and a thermostat set too low in a building.

Lower temperatures over a long duration can pose a problem to water lines if they are not insulated properly. Water expands in size when it freezes and can exert pressure at over 2,000 pounds per square inch. Any container holding it will break.

Take a walk around your property and through the home, to locate any areas that are prone to freezing. Here are some tips to keep water flowing.

– Exposed pipes have a higher chance of freezing. Install heat tape, or thermostatically controlled heat cables according to the manufacturers’ instructions around exposed pipes, and turn the tape on when the temperatures get low. Open under the counter cabinets to warm uninsulated pipes, or plumbing close to a vent or window.

– Do not dump grease into the drain, as it will solidify very quickly in a cold sewer line and cause a plug.

– Look for cracks around the home and stop cold air from coming in by installing insulation or sealing with caulk. Garden hoses should be disconnected from outside faucets. Insulate the valve and use the indoor valve to shut off, and drain the water from the pipe leading to the outside faucets.

– Mark the incoming water line to the house clearly so no one parks or drives over the line. Throw snow on top of water and sewer lines to insulate them from the bitter cold. Have the sewer line cleaned to prevent slow flow and to insure no obstructions are present. At the same time, clean the sewer vent as well. Low-flow toilets do not provide enough flow to flush solids all the way through, so use more water to keep a blockage from forming. Never, at any time of the year, flush something that doesn’t belong in the sewer system.

– Ask a friend to stop by and check on the home if no one will be at the house for a lengthy period of time. Possibly shut off and drain the water system. Be aware that shutting off the water may deactivate a sprinkler system.

– Be neighborly and check on a neighbor that may need a helping hand when you can.

There are things you can do if you suspect a water line is frozen, or starting to freeze.

Watch for a ‘rusty’ color to the tap water, this is a sign of a pipe freezing. When turning on the faucet and no water — or only a trickle — comes out from it, the line is froze or on its way there. Open the faucet and inspect the line, starting from the faucet. Check other faucets in the home, other areas could be frozen. Locate problem areas, frost or ice on the pipe, or bulging in the line. These are all indications of where the line is frozen. Take immediate action by shutting off the water to that area before a pipe breaks.

If you see no indication to where the line is frozen, the problem pipe could be behind a wall. Turn up the heat in the house if you suspect the blockage is behind a wall. Possibly cut a section of wall or ceiling out to get to it. Use an infrared lamp to heat up the area. An infrared lamp passes heat through the air without heating it for more direct energy warmth.

If the frozen pipe is in an easy area to get to, do not use a torch or other open flame device to thaw it out. They can cause a fire hazard and damage the pipe.

To thaw out the frozen area, start at the faucet and work down the line using the following methods.

– Blow warm air on the area with a hair dryer, or a portable space heater.

– Turn on an electric blanket and wrap it around the pipe.

– Wrap towels soaked in hot water, around the pipe.

– Use electric pipe heat tape.

More than a plumber will be needed if a pipe does burst. Two hundred and fifty gallons of water can spray from one pipe, causing flooding throughout the house, structural damage and an immediate mold potential.

Turn off the water at the main shutoff valve in the house and call for help if a pipe breaks.

In some cases, city water lines which supply water to a home can freeze

Jeff Lampi, water-wastewater superintendent for the city of Escanaba, watches frost levels each year during the colder months in Escanaba. At this time, Lampi says Escanaba is a long way from seeing any water lines freeze up.

“We are not even close yet, and we would have to have many days of sub-zero temperatures to start to worry about freezing pipes,” said Lampi.

“All of the water lines that have been known to freeze up first in previous winters have been reworked in the city,” said Lampi. “This year we will see a whole new set of benchmarks from what we knew before. Once we know of one or two lines freezing we will contact individual households.”

Lampi knows there are times when it is more cost effective to ask families to run water through pipes, instead of fixing a burst pipe.

“If one or two lines freeze in town, we will notify individual households we think could be affected. They will receive information on how to keep the water flowing from inside the home,” said Lampi. “We take care of the city side water lines, home owners need to watch the private side of the water lines.”

Lampi said city workers will go to a home one time to thaw out a line for no charge, but the second time it happens the resident will pay for the service.

“It also depends if the blockage is on the city side, or the private side of the line,” Lampi said.

Contact the Escanaba Water Department for further instructions if you decide to keep a faucet open to stop further freezing of the pipe.

The city of Escanaba Water Department shares ways to keep water flowing in extreme cold weather on its website. Call the water or wastewater departments, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 786-3291 or 786-1301, if you have any water related problems in the city of Escanaba.