Frozen water pipes (no water in cold weather)

A dead-cold tap after a freezing night is alarming, but most frozen pipes can be thawed safely at home — and knowing where your main shutoff is means you're ready if one has split.

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Select anything that matches and the checklist below reorders to fit. Not sure? Skip it.

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Start here

In Canada, start here: a pipe in a cold spot has almost certainly frozen. Open the affected tap and leave it open, then follow the pipe to the coldest, most exposed section — an exterior wall, crawlspace, garage, or unheated cabin — and feel for a frost-covered or ice-cold stretch. Apply gentle heat there (a hair dryer, heat lamp, or warm towels), working from the faucet end toward the frozen spot. Never use an open flame. This is the single most common reason a tap goes dry in a Canadian cold snap.

Ranked from real-world failure data. The order updates as you select what you’re noticing above.

Likely causes, in the order to check them

Showing the typical order

Beginner-friendly Doable, with care Safety-critical Call a pro

visibilityHow to find the frozen section

Open the tap that's dry — both hot and cold sides — and leave it open. Running water and melting ice need somewhere to go, and flow returning is how you'll know the ice has cleared.
Follow that tap's supply pipe back toward the coldest, most exposed place it passes through: an exterior wall, crawlspace, garage, rim joist, or unheated room. Feel along it for a frost-covered or ice-cold stretch.
Look closely at that stretch for a bulge, a lengthwise crack, or a section pushed out of round. Frost or a bulge marks where to apply heat; a crack means the pipe has already split — stop and treat it as a burst (shut off the main).

buildflashlight schedule15 min

handymanHow to fix it

report Never thaw a pipe with an open flameA blowtorch or open flame can ignite framing, insulation, or a wall cavity you can't see into, and heating ice too fast can flash it to steam and burst the pipe in your face. Use only gentle heat — a hair dryer, heat lamp, or warm towels — and work from the open faucet toward the frozen spot. If the pipe is inside a finished wall you can't reach, or you're not comfortable doing this, a plumber can thaw and inspect it safely.

With the tap open, apply gentle heat — a hair dryer, heat lamp, or warm towels — starting at the faucet end and working back toward the frozen section, until full flow returns. If thawing reveals a split, shut off the water and call a plumber. Never use an open flame or blowtorch.

Locate your main water shutoff before you start, so you can stop the water fast if the pipe turns out to be split. Open the affected tap and leave it open.
Apply gentle heat to the frozen section: a hair dryer, a heat lamp, warm towels, or an electric heating pad. Start at the faucet end and work back toward the coldest part, so meltwater can escape out the open tap.
Never use an open flame, a blowtorch, or a propane heater on a pipe. Keep heating steadily until water flows freely again; if flow is slow to return, the frozen section may be farther along — keep following the pipe.
As it thaws, watch for drips or spray. If you find a leak, close the main shutoff immediately and call a plumber — a thawed split will only get worse.

schedule45 min savings$0–40

gavel Check your province first AB: homeowner may do this · BC: homeowner may do this · ON: permit + inspection required · PE: homeowner may do this · QC: licensed professionals only
Thawing an accessible pipe is generally owner-permitted; repairing a split section (soldering/crimping in new pipe) is minor plumbing most provinces allow a homeowner in their own dwelling, but concealed or main-line work may need a permit — confirm the provincial rule.

verifiedWhy this one goes to a pro

If a pipe has burst, the ice is the only thing holding the water back. Thawing it without shutting off the main floods the home — often inside a wall or ceiling. Find and close your main water shutoff now, open a tap to relieve pressure, keep water clear of anything electrical, and call a licensed plumber. Repairing a split pipe (cutting out the damaged section, soldering or crimping in new pipe) is a plumber's job, not a homeowner one.

Your notes travel with the request — what you saw, what you ruled out, when it started — so the pro arrives with a head start instead of a mystery.

verifiedWhy this one goes to a pro

The main line and the buried service line sit deep, underground, or where water enters under pressure — you can't reach the frozen part with household heat, and thawing them wrong can rupture the line or the meter. Keep some heat near where the line enters the house and call a licensed plumber. If the freeze is out toward the street, contact your municipality first — the section beyond your property line is often their responsibility.

Your notes travel with the request — what you saw, what you ruled out, when it started — so the pro arrives with a head start instead of a mystery.

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Why the list is in this order

We don’t sort by likelihood alone. We sort the way a good, honest tradesperson thinks: rule out the free, safe, common causes first. That’s why the cheap checks outrank the expensive repairs — and why anything dangerous gets a hard stop instead of a pep talk. The order exists to save you money, not to sell you anything.