Frozen water pipes

[Anonymous]

I suddenly realized I forgot to turn off the outside water this fall. Just did it this morning. Back drain was fine, took hose off and water dripped out. Front drain was already frozen though. I did turn the water off and took the hose off the drain but there is frozen water on the ground under the drain and I could barely turn the faucet. I suspect the pipes are already frozen. Is there anything I can do at this point? The pipes go through an unfinished and unheated section of the basement. I could put a space heater in there and see if I can warm up the pipes for a day or two but the outside part is definitely frozen.

I'm worried because this pipe has burst before in the middle of the winter (before I learned you need to turn it off.)

[Anonymous]

Yes to the space heater. For the outside segment, is it exposed? If so, you can set a hot water bottle on it, or take a hair dryer to it.

[Anonymous]

OP: Thanks. Will turn on the space heater when I get home this afternoon.

Only the faucet is exposed outside. I guess I can try some hot water on that.

[Anonymous]

Don't actually pour hot water on it! That would be a mess. If you don't have one of those old-fashioned red rubber hot water bottles, go the hairdryer or heating pad route.

Also, check your access panels. In my house, we have a couple of access panels on interior walls, opposite where the faucet comes out on the exterior wall. This is another good place to apply some heat.