[Ickarss]

I have City water. I get no water in the kitchen sink but upstairs and downstairs bathrooms are fine. I'm worried with a recent cold weather that this means the pipes are frozen but was wondering if anyone had any other ideas.

[massplumber2008]

Hi Ickarss:

First thing to check will be to remove the aerator at the end of the kitchen faucet.. could be plugged with sediment. Once you remove the aerator, turn on the water... if present now clean the aerator of sediment and reinstall.

If no water after removing the aerator and turning on the water then open up the cabinet doors to let the warm air from your house enter the cabinet. Then open the faucet about 1/2 open. If the pipes are frozen they should thaw out quickly. If they don't unfreeze quickly use a hair dryer to heat the copper pipes under the sink... again, leave the faucet 1/2 way open. When you start to see some dripping you are getting real close to thawing the pipe.

Here, copper pipe acts as a conductor of the heat from the dryer... travels quite a distance. Just don't burn out the hairdryer.

If the pipes go into your basement you may need to chase them out to the point that is freezing and heat the pipes there.

Finally, if the pipes did freeze you had better know where the main water shutoff to the house is... just in case the pipes have frozen and burst! Just FYI...

MARK

[Ickarss]

Thanks Mark, I didn't think about using a hair dryer. Hopefully it will help.