Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am sure many of us in the Midwest recently experienced the freezing of pipes. Right now, people are trying to help me with this problem, but soon I will be living on my own without help. If something like that happens, what should I do? I have always lived in places with pipes that withstood low temperatures. I have read about various ways of thawing the pipes, but none of them have worked so far in the house I am in now. I just want to make sure I do not end up with an emergency situation when I move in the near future.
I am sure many of us in the Midwest recently experienced the freezing of pipes. Right now, people are trying to help me with this problem, but soon I will be living on my own without help. If something like that happens, what should I do? I have always lived in places with pipes that withstood low temperatures. I have read about various ways of thawing the pipes, but none of them have worked so far in the house I am in now. I just want to make sure I do not end up with an emergency situation when I move in the near future.
Thank you.
When it gets very cold, just keep your water running a tiny bit all day/night. That virtually always keeps them from freezing.
Use a hair dryer to thaw the pipes or wrap the pipes in towels soaked in hot water. I heard the hair dryer advice last night on the radio, the hot towel idea is the one I have always heard.
Also, identify problem locations--like where your pipes are frozen now and wrap them with thermal tape, figure out a way to get heat to that area or add insulation as you are able. You shouldn't have to deal with frozen pipes if you take steps to prevent them from freezing in the first place.
We are discovering all kinds of things about our house, as we moved in the beginning of November. The kitchen sink pipe froze. The house is cold, but not that cold, and of course we find out it is on an outside wall. We used a space heater and it is now thawed. Come spring, we will be making the changes needed to better insulate pipes and house.
Woke up this morning to find my kitchen sink's hot water pipe frozen. Temperature's warming up outside, but still not above freezing yet. Looks like I'll try taking a hair dryer to the pipe to see if I can get things moving along. Good luck to those of us dealing with this mess. And best of luck, OP, with the job interviews!
At my last house, before I remodeled the kitchen (contractor brought most of the pipes "inside") my kitchen pipes would freeze when temps got really low. It was pretty scary to get up, go to the kitchen, turn on a faucet, and have absolutely nothing happen. I would open the cabinet doors and place a small space heater inside aimed right at the pipes. It would always take several hours, but eventually I would get a trickle of water, and an hour or so later the water would be running normally again.
I would never have been able to use the hairdryer trick because it always took HOURS to thaw the pipes (wouldn't a hair dryer burn out before then, since it's normally used only a few minutes at a time?).
OP, what have you tried so far that hasn't worked?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would open the cabinet doors and place a small space heater inside aimed right at the pipes. It would always take several hours, but eventually I would get a trickle of water, and an hour or so later the water would be running normally again.
