re: Pipes frozen - question

quote:

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How screwed am I? Is it possible they will thaw out and not bust? I looked under the house (have a pier and beam home) and didn't notice any obvious cracks in them.

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if you left any faucets dripping anywhere, you should be good as far as bursting.

the reason they bust is because ice takes up more space than liquid water and this expansion is too much pressure for the pipes to handle.

Most people think leaving the faucet drip prevents your pipes from freezing because that small flow of water keeps pulling warmer water from underground through your pipes preventing them from freezing.
but in reality, if you have an open faucet, that opening gives the water/ice room to expand and relieve that pressure. Because the freezing/expansion happens slowly, that small opening in your faucets is big enough to relieve enough pressure to prevent the bursting of your pipes.