
Burst Pipe
Close the main valve the moment you see water where it should not be, because pressure keeps feeding a split line whether or not the ice has melted yet.
When this becomes an emergency
- A hose bib that keeps dripping from the handle after the freeze passed.
- Water dripping through a laundry room ceiling with nothing above it but pipe.
- A faucet that gives nothing while the one next to it works normally.
- The sound of water moving inside a wall after a cold night.
What a pro does
Freeze damage in South Carolina fails differently than it does further north, and a plumber knows to go looking in the places nobody protected. Winters here are mild enough that homes get built as though hard cold isn't part of the plan. Supply lines run through unconditioned laundry rooms, along the back of a garage wall, through an attic on a slab home, and out to hose bibs and irrigation manifolds with no shutoff inside. Then an Arctic front drops the Upstate into the teens for two nights and a whole street finds out at once. The plumber isolates the section that's lost pressure by closing branches one at a time, then opens the smallest amount of finish needed to reach the break. Ice tends to damage a run in more than one place, so the pipe gets checked well past the obvious split before anything is rejoined. After the repair the system comes back up under low pressure first, then full, with the fixtures opened to bleed air. Outside spigots and irrigation backflow devices get looked at last, since those crack quietly and only show it in April.
Frequently asked questions
Keep going
disclaimer: Plumbers of South Carolina is a free service to assist homeowners in connecting with local service providers. All contractors/providers are independent and Plumbers of South Carolina does not warrant or guarantee any work performed. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to verify that the hired contractor furnishes the necessary license and insurance required for the work being performed. All persons depicted in a photo or video are actors or models and not contractors listed on Plumbers of South Carolina.
Same-day and 24/7 emergency services are subject to provider participation, location, technician availability, and demand. Availability is not guaranteed and may vary by market and appointment capacity.
We use cookies and session-based analytics, including session replays (with form inputs masked), to improve this site. See our Privacy Policy.
About · Contact · Privacy · Terms · Disclosure · Sitemap
© 2026 Plumbers of South Carolina. All rights reserved.