I'm so confused... Can we dumb it down a little bit?

Anonymous wroteon't just shut off the outside water -- drain the valves (both outside by disconnecting the hose and draining all the left over water in the pipes AND release the drain valves indoors to drain all existing water inside on those outside lines). This is coming from a Canadian who is used to -30 degree weather and never had a frozen pipe. Also -- watch for all the WSSC burst water lines and hope you don't live downstream from any….


I don't understand this - where are the drain valves indoors? I don't think I have ever seen any. Surely if you shut off the valve to the outside pipe and then turn the outside tap on you should be OK, no?

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing maybe there's an extra valve that people build in in really cold climates, that allows you to drain the water from the inside pipe, above the shutoff valve? That's what Canadian PP seems to describe. In my house here there isn't any such thing. There's a shut-off valve on the inside pipe, about 2 feet below where the pipe goes through the wall to the outside faucet. Gravity working as it does, the 2 feet of water above the shut-off is stuck there in the pipe (unless one were to try to siphon or suck it out through the open outside faucet--I've never heard of anyone doing such a thing and I'm not about to try).

I guess I just have to live with the risk for those 2 feet of pipe (x2 outside faucets--they're both the same way). They're on the inside of the uninsulated outside wall (but each in a heated utility room). It's always been OK.

Oh-and if you do have some freezing and tackle it yourself, make sure to turn the water on and thaw from the faucet backwards.

Please don't try to thaw frozen pipes yourself. At least not with a blowtorch (some folks' favorite tool). If you mistakenly or even accidentally get that thing near a gas line (which BTW looks just like a water line), it can really ruin your day.

I wouldn't even try it with a hairdryer. (Electricity and dripping water--another good combination.)

Just shut off the water at the next upstream valve (or the main intake valve if you can't find any other), and call a plumber.

If you don't know where your main water intake valve is, find it now, before you need to know (and show it to dear spouse, too). It's probably in your basement, either near the laundry/utility area, or near the hot water heater.

Anonymous wrote:Just shut off your outside water for the winter.

Yeah, that's not going to solve the problem of my washing machine line freezing which is what happened on Friday.

Anonymous wrote:Wait, do you mean, leave the outside taps running a little? I'm from the South! Never had this as an issue.

Dripping. Not full on running.

No, leave inside taps running. Shut off water to outside, then turn on outside faucets to drain the water. Like PPs, we also keep cabinet doors open in subzero temps.

Wait, do you mean, leave the outside taps running a little? I'm from the South! Never had this as an issue.

Anonymous wrote:Don't just shut off the outside water -- drain the valves (both outside by disconnecting the hose and draining all the left over water in the pipes AND release the drain valves indoors to drain all existing water inside on those outside lines). This is coming from a Canadian who is used to -30 degree weather and never had a frozen pipe. Also -- watch for all the WSSC burst water lines and hope you don't live downstream from any….

I don't understand this - where are the drain valves indoors? I don't think I have ever seen any. Surely if you shut off the valve to the outside pipe and then turn the outside tap on you should be OK, no?

Don't just shut off the outside water -- drain the valves (both outside by disconnecting the hose and draining all the left over water in the pipes AND release the drain valves indoors to drain all existing water inside on those outside lines). This is coming from a Canadian who is used to -30 degree weather and never had a frozen pipe. Also -- watch for all the WSSC burst water lines and hope you don't live downstream from any….

Anonymous wrote:Just shut off your outside water for the winter.

Yep! This is what we do!

Just shut off your outside water for the winter.

If your kitchen sink is on an exterior wall, open the doors of the cabinet beneath during these exceptionally low temps.

Oh-and if you do have some freezing and tackle it yourself, make sure to turn the water on and thaw from the faucet backwards.

Not turning the heat down overnight on the worst nights can help as can opening cabinet doors that have pipes running through the walls behind them to get more heat to them.

We just said goodbye to the plumber $85 later, to defrost some of our exterior pipes
(after a 16 degree night) to get the water back on. We've only been in this house
a few years, and with all the mild winters, we never had
to leave the water at a slight drip at night to prevent
freezing. If you have ANY exterior pipes, and the temps are supposed to
be below 32, you might want to seriously consider this
or another tactic to prevent freezing pipes at night. This is
a parenting issue in as much as if you awaken to
frozen pipes and no water, your ability to parent
well will probably kick into some of your more
creative skill set. (not fun!)

Each night this week is supposed to be very cold,
through Thursday, so word of warning, if you
can, leave a slight drip in the bathtub!

Stay warm!