Winter · Sioux Falls, SD
Frozen Pipes in Sioux Falls, SD: How to Thaw Them Safely, and When It Has Already Burst
A faucet that gives a trickle on a sub-zero Sioux Falls morning is almost always a frozen pipe: keep the faucet open, warm the pipe with a hair dryer, heating pad or hot towels, and never use an open flame (American Red Cross, read November 6, 2026). If water appears as it thaws, the pipe split; close the main shutoff. A burst pipe repair runs $400–$2,000 in national cost guides, more after hours.
Published November 6, 2026 · Figures and rules checked against the sources listed at the end of this page.
Frozen or burst?
- Frozen: no water, no leak One faucet (or one side of the house) gives a trickle or nothing. Nothing is wet. Ice is blocking the line.
- Burst: water where it should not be A wet wall, ceiling or floor, dripping from a pipe, or water that appears as a frozen line thaws. The pipe split.
- Either way, know where the main shutoff is Usually in the basement where the water line enters, next to the meter. Find it before you start thawing.
How to thaw a frozen pipe
- Keep the faucet open. Open the faucet the frozen line feeds, hot and cold. As the ice melts, moving water helps clear the rest, and an open tap relieves pressure.
- Find the frozen section. Likely spots are pipes against an outside wall, where the water service comes through the foundation, and lines in an unheated basement, crawlspace or garage. Feel for the coldest stretch; frost on the outside of a pipe is a giveaway.
- Warm it gently. An electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, a hair dryer, a portable space heater kept away from anything flammable, or towels soaked in hot water. Work from the faucet end back toward the frozen section.
- Never use an open flame. No blowtorch, propane or kerosene heater, charcoal stove or any other open-flame device. They start house fires and can boil the water inside the pipe.
- Keep going until full pressure returns. Then check every other faucet in the house: if one line froze, others may have. If you cannot find or reach the frozen section, or it will not thaw, call a licensed plumber.
- Watch for the leak. A pipe that split while frozen leaks when it thaws. If water appears, close the main shutoff and read the emergency page.
Call a plumber instead of thawing it yourself if the frozen section is inside a finished wall or under a slab, if it is the water service line where it comes through the foundation, if you cannot find it, or if it will not thaw after a reasonable effort. A split line in a wall is a repair, not a thaw.
What a burst pipe costs to repair
| Section replaced | Range |
|---|---|
| 1 linear foot | $150–$250 |
| 2 linear feet | $300–$500 |
| 5 linear feet | $750–$1,250 |
| 8 linear feet | $1,200–$2,000 |
| Where | Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen | $150–$500 |
| Inside a wall | $150–$500 |
| Bathroom | $150–$800 |
| Basement | $250–$5,000 |
| Main water line replacement | $2,000–$5,000 |
National ranges; the typical burst-pipe repair is $400–$2,000, and after-hours calls run $125–$170 per hour. Water damage cleanup is a separate bill. See the plumbing costs page.
Preventing it next time
The Red Cross prevention list, which maps well onto a Sioux Falls house:
- Before winter, drain and store garden hoses, close the inside shutoff valves to outdoor spigots, and leave the outside spigots open so any water left in the pipe can expand without splitting it.
- Insulate water lines in unheated spaces: the garage, the crawlspace, under kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and anything against an outside wall. Pipe sleeves or UL-listed heat tape on exposed runs.
- Keep the garage door closed if water lines run through the garage.
- On very cold nights, open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls and let the cold faucet on that line drip.
- Keep the thermostat at one setting day and night during a cold snap; the heating cost is less than the repair.
- Going away? Leave the heat on, no lower than 55°F, and have someone check the house.
What this page does not say
We found no City of Sioux Falls guidance on frozen water lines on siouxfalls.gov, so this page states no local temperature threshold, bury-depth rule or code requirement. The thawing and prevention steps are the American Red Cross's, and the prices are national guides. If a pipe froze inside a wall or the service line froze at the foundation, the repair is work for a licensed plumber; the license check page shows how to confirm one.
Sources and dates
Every figure and rule above names where it came from and the date it was read. If a source disagrees with a quote you receive, the quote wins: it reflects your house, your pipes and this week's demand. Prices are rechecked at least every six months.
- American Red Cross, "Preventing & Thawing Frozen Pipes" — read November 6, 2026. Which pipes freeze, prevention list, thawing steps and the open-flame warning.
- HomeGuide, "How Much Does It Cost to Repair a Burst Pipe? (2026)" — read November 6, 2026. Burst pipe repair ranges by length and location.
- HomeGuide, "2026 Plumber Cost Per Hour | Average Rates To Hire A Plumber" — read November 6, 2026. After-hours rates.