Frozen plumbing pipes, although inconvenient, do not constitute a calamity. The calamity may come if the pipes are thawed with a blow torch, and if the open flame or the torch is allowed to come too close to combustible material, such as insulation, wooden joists or flooring.
Another danger from the use of a torch arises when both ends of a pipe are clogged with ice and when the heat is applied in the center. The application of the heat of the torch at the center of the pipe is likely to cause the water to flash into steam potentially causing an explosion with disastrous results for the user of the torch.
It is far better to adopt the slower and more conservative procedure of melting ice by the use of a blow dryer, or heat gun.
