The pipes for our washer have frozen. I believe they froze in the section that runs through the wall facing an enclosed, uninsulated porch. I currently have the heat cranked in the laundry room and have a space heater running facing the wall on the porch where the pipes run. Is there anything else we can do?
Plumbing – How to thaw a frozen washing machine pipe limited access semi-exterior wall
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If you dont want to run a new pipe you will need specific insulation
Notice that this insulation has a shiny outside layer. This acts as a reflection for heat, and usually has a black/dark side on the inside.
The foam/glass wool used to wrap the pipe needs not be anything special, but I am sure there are special ones that locks out heat better.. instead of the conventional one that keeps heat in.. is there a difference? I am not sure.
Look at this insulation- They wrap silver around the pipe and then insulate it. You DONT want to do this.. because this keeps the heat INSIDE the pipe, and the insualtion slows down absorption of coldness form the earth
As commented- it has no difference--inside or outside- it will deflect the heat in both cases... This is open to debate though.
So you are looking for Glass Wool Pipe Insulation with reflective outer shield
It could very well be a frozen pipe, it could also be that the valve has become clogged somehow.
The only way to tell for sure if its a frozen pipe is either find the frozen pipe, or wait for it to thaw. If water starts flowing when the temperature warms up then you know it was frozen.
If you have copper pipes, the worst case would be that when it thaws you discover a leak from a burst pipe. With this in mind, it is probably worth opening up the wall to find out for sure - way easier to replace a cleanly cut section of drywall then it is to fix extensive water damage. Once you find the section you need to determine why it froze - is there no insulation in there? Can you remedy that?
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Best Answer
I literally just got done dealing with some pipe that burst after it froze not 10 minutes ago. My first suggestion would be, after it thaws, make absolutely sure it didn't rupture anywhere. Even a tiny trickle can turn into black mold problems down the road.
If you're using the type we used to use up in Canada when we lived there that's made to allow the expansion/contraction of freezing and you're less worried about rupture, what we used to do to avoid having to open up the wall was cut a small area you can easily place one of those cheap small vents into in your wall so it still looks nice. Then we'd either throw a space heater at it. Or we would go get those hand warmer heat packs that cost about a dollar a piece that when you rub them together they activate and produce good heat for multiple hours and lay them over the pipe to speed it up (ALSO to prevent them from freezing on the really cold nights.) Something like these: