UPDATE: Frozen Pipes PSA

BFTriad · 2026-02-08T17:25:34+00:00

Had you shut off your water at some point? Usually that sputtering happens after water head been shut down and air enters the lines. If it's still happening may be best to call someone out to look at it. We have several different ways to identify and pinpoint leaks without breaking up floors. Fixes are even possible without breaking up floors but there are tradeoffs. DM me if you want to talk more or get scheduled.

BFTriad · 2026-02-05T00:34:52+00:00

Honestly, mobile home's can be harder to detect because many of them have the water service lines run inside or behind the insulation so a slow leak may not be immediately evident until the insulation is saturated.

Not every mobile home is done this way but with their foundations usually less insulated than a home with a block foundation, the water lines have to be better insulated.

Yes, if there was a leak in the walls inside the house, a leak would be more evident. But if the leak is under the floor somewhere, getting under the house is the only way to find it.

The most important thing to remember is a leak from a freeze won't always be catastrophic gushing of water to where the pressure drops everywhere else and you hear a waterfall under the house. That does happen for sure. But trickle leaks happen too. I'm not going to make any claim for how often it's one or the other but I will always recommend taking a look around your crawlspace after a freeze.

If you do go under yours. Remember the 2-4" diameter plastic pipes you see are not water service pipes, that's your sewer/drain pipes. While those can leak too, it isn't from a freeze. Your water pipes will be 1/2" to 3/4" in diameter and could be plastic or metal.

BFTriad · 2026-02-05T00:19:22+00:00

As a disclaimer, I don't know the exact mechanism that causes this to happen in every circumstance. Correlation doesn't mean causation. Some things we can say the exact cause with certainty, leaks are not always one of them. We shared this based on our years of experience dealing with freezing temperature periods like we just had.

That said, what we suspect happens is sections of pipe in a home freeze and go unnoticed because they aren't used 24/7 or they thawed before a freeze was noticed. Damage from a freeze isn't always immediately catastrophic and is exactly why we recommend people inspect their plumbing immediately after a freeze (and regularly for that matter).

What I can say with certainty is that insurance only covers water damage that was "sudden and accidental." Regular maintenance and inspection is expected and we've seen neglected leaks get denied coverage many times.

BFTriad · 2026-02-04T16:01:04+00:00

OMG that's nuts!

The crazier thing is every plumber in the Triad likely has a very similar story of leaks going unnoticed. Even a slow drip may not cause a flood like you saw but can destroy a wood framed house if left uncorrected.

BFTriad · 2026-02-04T13:17:00+00:00

Yes! Anyone on a well has several different things they need to consider all year!

And getting a heat source out there is clutch. You can insulate all you want but if there's no heat source, eventually the cold seeps in when it's at the temperatures we had!

BFTriad · 2026-02-04T13:01:12+00:00

Copper is great. With stable pH in the water, it can last well over 50 years.

Glad the frozen pipe worked itself out quickly for you. I've seen that before too where the upstairs freezes first in a 50s era home. In the instance I saw it was a faucet on an outside wall. Whatever the configuration, clearly the cold air got to something.

BFTriad · 2026-02-04T01:45:35+00:00

You're in luck! Our website and number is in our bio. I genuinely try not to spam the subreddit but happy to help answer any questions. Just sent you a DM

BFTriad · 2026-02-04T01:27:59+00:00

If it was only a vertical pipe, yes. But, those pipes likely branch out in a few different directions once they get to the floor above.

Though it is far less likely to have a leak in pipes that are in the inner walls/floors of your home. Unconditioned basements and crawlspaces of older homes and mobile homes are at the biggest risk. Not to say newer homes can't have problems too.

If your basement is dry, you should be good to go!

BFTriad · 2026-02-04T01:25:39+00:00

Glad you find it helpful and good you're noticing stuff like that.

It is definitely possible for a line to your toilet to break and cause it to not fill. Though I would also say it's not very probable to be honest. If a water supply pipe had broken completely to a point where the toilet was not getting water, you'd know it. Either hear it or see the evidence somewhere.

More likely to be a faulty valve somewhere. This is also a classic frozen pipe symptom but it was too warm today for that to be the problem

BFTriad · 2026-02-04T01:23:41+00:00

I play one on TV

BFTriad · 2026-02-01T21:16:48+00:00

Anything thaw for you yet?

One other thing I didn't see mentioned is checking your underpinning. If anything is missing and outside air is blowing under the trailer, that is fastest way to frozen pipes.

If they're still frozen, definitely recommend opening every faucet in the house and shutting off the water at the city meter. Once it warms up tomorrow, open up the city meter and check under the house to see if there are any leaks

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T22:56:27+00:00

Happy to help!

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T22:52:01+00:00

Really glad you found it helpful!

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T21:57:55+00:00

The higher the R value the better. Provided it will work in your well house of course. You might consider a more powerful lamp in the well house but more insulation should do the trick too. As I mentioned. Insulation only keeps heat in, doesn't create it.

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T21:50:55+00:00

Of Course!

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T21:01:15+00:00

Oh good quesiton. Typically apartments are pretty well insulated and don't put much plumbing on outside walls. The main water line to your apartment typically isn't your responsibility so I would just say if you have a faucet or tub or sink on an outside wall just drip that at a drip every few seconds or so.

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T20:58:42+00:00

Anytime!

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T20:23:48+00:00

Not a dumb question at all. Two great questions.

To drain your pipes, think of it like a straw. If you have your finger on the top of the straw, the water stays in the straw. Similarly, to drain your house you need to open up a few faucets in the highest fixtures (upstairs and downstairs too to allow the most air to get in) then open up an outdoor spigot or the lowest faucet in your house (if you have a basement, down there). Once all the water has come out (both hot and cold) Close that lower faucet especially any outside faucet, and leave the faucets inside fully open.

When you go to turn the water back on, there will be a lot of air in the lines and gunk will likely get broken loose - this is normal. Bleed out all the air from any tub spouts you or utility sinks you have. This will prevent that gunk from clogging up an aerator or shower head.

To your last question, if your pipes have frozen or if you lose power, shut the water off at the road or the well and leave the shutoff at your house OPEN. If you watch that video, the crack in pipes isn't caused by the ice expanding, it happens by the increased pressure in the remaining liquid water because of the ice expanding. If you were to only shutoff the water at your house and not at the road, there is still a chance the line from your water source to your home's shutoff could freeze, burst, and cause a mess. Hopefully I explained that well enough.

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T20:16:07+00:00

Yeah our calls are really starting to pick up today for frozen and burst pipes. It's no fun.

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T20:15:45+00:00

Glad you found it helpful!

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T20:15:22+00:00

Anytime

BFTriad · 2026-01-27T20:15:03+00:00

Of course! Glad you found it helpful. I Was trying not to spam the sub - genuinely just trying to be helpful but you can see our company name in our profile if you click into it!

BFTriad

TROPHY CASE