07463 838090
Emergency plumberBurst pipes, leaks you can't stop, no water. Ring first.Heating repairCold radiators, pressure loss, pumps and valves.Bathroom installationFull refits, wet rooms, showers, downstairs loos.Pipe repairs and leaksLeak tracing, pipe replacement, stopcocks.Plumbing installationKitchens, extensions, outside taps, appliances.Maintenance and servicingAnnual checks for homeowners and landlords.Shower repair and installationLeaking, cold or dead showers fixed or replaced.Radiator replacementNew radiators, towel rails and valves fitted.Toilet repair and replacementLeaks, constant running, weak flush, new toilets.Taps and outside tapsDripping taps fixed, new taps and garden taps fitted.Unvented cylindersMains pressure hot water to replace old tanks.Downstairs toiletsCloakrooms under the stairs and off hallways.Wet room conversionsBath out, level-access shower in, fully tanked.
Not sure what you need?

Describe what's happening and I'll tell you on the phone whether it's a same-day job or a quote.

07463 838090 Email a job See all services What it costs

East, towards the hills

Stockport town

Further out

Based in Stockport

Twenty-five areas within about twenty-five minutes of the town centre. Just outside? Ring and ask, I usually can.

07463 838090 All areas I cover
Menu
Services
Areas
Case studies Help guides Pricing About Declan Reviews Landlords Contact
Call 07463 838090 Email a job
  1. Home
  2. Help guides
  3. Frozen pipes: how to thaw them safely and stop it happening again

Frozen pipes: how to thaw them safely and stop it happening again

By Declan Barry, plumber, Stockport. Updated 2026-09-10.

A frozen pipe shows as one tap or one part of the house with no water while the rest works. Thaw it slowly with warm towels or a hairdryer, never a blowtorch, starting at the tap end and working back. Then check for splits, because the leak appears when it thaws. Lagging exposed pipes stops it happening again.

What to do

  1. Find the frozen section

    It will be somewhere cold: the loft, an outside wall, a garage, under a suspended floor near an airbrick, or an outside tap. Follow the pipe from the dry tap back until you find a section that is cold to the touch or frosted.

  2. Open the tap it feeds

    So that when the ice melts the water has somewhere to go and pressure does not build behind it.

  3. Thaw from the tap end backwards

    Warm towels, a hot water bottle or a hairdryer on low. Start nearest the tap and work back towards the frozen section so melted water can escape. Never use a naked flame.

  4. Watch for leaks as it thaws

    If the pipe split when it froze, it will leak now. Have the stopcock ready and a bucket to hand.

  5. Lag it before next winter

    Foam pipe insulation from any DIY shop on every exposed run. Fit an isolating valve inside for the outside tap and drain it in autumn. Leave the loft hatch open a crack in a hard frost so warm air gets up there.

When to ring a plumber

  • The pipe has split. It needs cutting out and replacing before the water goes back on.
  • You cannot find the frozen section, or it is somewhere you cannot reach.
  • It freezes every year. I can lag the runs and move the worst ones so it stops.

Questions

Which pipes freeze first?

Outside taps, pipes in the loft above the insulation, pipes on outside walls in garages and utility rooms, and condensate pipes from the boiler running outside. The houses up towards Marple, High Lane and Disley get it worst.

My boiler has stopped in the cold. Is that a frozen pipe?

Often it is the condensate pipe, a white plastic pipe from the boiler to an outside drain. If it freezes the boiler locks out. Pouring warm water over the outside section usually frees it.

Related

Pipe repairs and leaksHow to find and turn off your stopcockBurst pipe: what to do in the first five minutesRadiator cold at the bottom but hot at the topHeating pressure keeps dropping
Call Declan Email