I am in TX and mine have been frozen for 36-40 hours now. I have had the water on with nothing coming out until just now. Mine are not frozen in the house, none of my plumbing is in outside walls.

What you told him is good.

yes that works in MN at -20!!

Carabubble, the instructions you gave are correct. May I suggest that for future occasions, he insulated all his pipes and when freezing temps are predicted, turn the taps on either drip or small stream.

Thank you, all. He said he’s got the water running. He used a space heater.

And open all lower cupboards in kitchen & bathroom, so the room warmth will help!

As he's got it going now, current problem solved.

But in future, if water quantity is a concern, or price, if he's available on an ongoing basis, it might be useful to run a stream for a while to clear the pipe, then stop for a few hours, depending on the temperature, then run a stream again for a short while, to warm the pipe, and shut it off again for a time. It takes a substantial period for that fresh water to freeze.

ole joyfuelled ... who doesn't get in "hot water" very often

Ditto the opening cabinet doors overnight. My kitchen sink, dishwasher are on an outside wall and happen to face E where our coldest wind will come from. They've never frozen, but there is always that first time. If someone else living in the home, just be sure to explain why. One night last year DH got up in the middle of the night, saw the sink cabinets open and thought I'd done it absent mindlessly. He closed them ;)

I have two toilets on outside walls but I've never had an issue and don't know what I'd do about those anyway.

The one time we had a pipe inconveniently freeze it was a drain. To the shower. We couldn't use the shower, although that was the house previous to this one. I went through a routine of carrying hot water from the stove into the bathroom, dipping out the excess and repeating. DH tacked cardboard to the city code under-house vents and it never happened again. I remember that particular storm though, and people had much worse issues than ours. A friend who belonged to volunteer fire department worked with them well into the night, going under houses with heaters, blow dryers, heating tapes and trying to thaw people's plumbing while hoping freeing them of ice wouldn't reveal cracks and breaks that had taken place with the freezing.

It is important to let the water in your faucets, both hot and cold, run at a narrow stream to keep them open. It should be about as wide as a strand of yarn. Make sure your drains are clear and that the warmish water is going down to keep the drains open also. Some refuse to do this as it is seen as a waste of water but how much does a plumber cost? or replacing burst water pipes?

I was watching an episode of This Old House and the plumber explained what it was about opening the faucets that helped. It was not actuall running water or even dripping, it was that as water freezes it expands and the expansion needs somewhere to go so having the taps open gives that space. You can even have a plumber add special valves to your pipes that allow pressure to escape. I didn't exactly get it but that is what he said. Apparently if your pipes are open enough to allow a drip it will do the job. That foam pipe insulation is always a good start.