My pipes started freezing

[Cinderellagrl]

We turned the kitchen faucet on last night and there wasn't any cold water coming through. We ran the hot water for a while & it seemed to work. This morning, so far, all is well and working. I'm a little worried about the snow storm though. They're predicting 8-12". If we lose power, which we usually do, we might be in trouble. Yikes...I hate this cold weather!

 

[Pop Daddy]

keep the water running all the time

 

[peacefulgirl]

Yes, keep the water running a tad somewhere in the house ... a must do for you !

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Yes, they said on the news to keep the water running atleast a little bit. I hate when this happens!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Is the kitchen pipe against an uninsulated wall? What area of the country are you in (just general geographic...south, southeast) If pipes run through the cabinet area below sink, leave cabinet doors open (to let in house heat) and, as said, trickle the kitchen faucet (cold).

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

And if the pipes do freeze, leave the spigot open and heat the pipes in the cabinet below with a hair dryer.

 

[HollyJoy]

We've had a small trickle of water running in our laundry sink to avoid the pipes from freezing!

 

[Cinderellagrl]

Is the kitchen pipe against an uninsulated wall? What area of the country are you in (just general geographic...south, southeast) If pipes run through the cabinet area below sink, leave cabinet doors open (to let in house heat) and, as said, trickle the kitchen faucet (cold).

I'm in the Northeast...it was only about 4 degrees yesterday with a windchill of about -5. The pipes are against an uninsulated wall. We have a coal stove in our family room (in the bsmt) and the other half of our basement is a built-in garage. We had the door closed between the two rooms, but we opened it last night so the stove could heat the garage more. It seems to have worked. It's been really cold here for the past two weeks now & up until yesterday we didn't have a problem. It's warmer in the garage now so hopefully that did the trick. I will also leave the water drip and keep the kitchen cabinets open. Thanks for the tips! I just hope we don't lose our power tonight!

 

[BostonTigger]

Mine froze last night. I was being stupid and forgot to leave the water running.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Stay warm, Cin!! Sounds under control, doing the right stuff there.

 

[piratesmate]

Ours froze last night too. (Outside Philly) I left the water dripping when I went upstairs & forgot about it. DH came down & evidently decided to start the dishwasher (portable) thinking that would be enough as long as the cabinet doors were open.

I can't say I was surprised - except that both pipes didn't freeze...only the hot water did. I couldn't believe that it was 1 degree when I got up! It's clear up to 9 now and our snow just started. They've upgraded us to 12 - 16+ inches according to AccuWeather, but if you listen to the Weather Channel & add the 8 - 12 expected today to the 4 - 7 tonight.....I just hope someone comes to shovel our door open in the AM! (We live on a farm & the snow drifts across the road right up to our door.)