I was all ready to dive into the woodworking part of Brady's room when we were forced off course.
Mother Nature has handed us a colder than normal winter in Philadelphia. Bitch. We came home one night to find the pipes to our master bathroom were frozen. Ruh roh raggy. Thankfully it doesn't appear that they burst. We ended up spending the weekend insulating our crawl space.
I got a crash course in what to do when your pipes freeze:
- Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage. Sounds obvious but when it is cold ice can build up on your garage door sensor so be careful you door shuts all the way.
- Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing.
- When the weather is very, let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe - even at a trickle - helps prevent pipes from freezing.
- Don't let your thermostat dip below 55 degrees (overnight or when you're out of town)
So all that is great...if your pipes aren't already frozen. If they are, here are some things you can try:
- Keep the faucets open while you thaw. As you treat the frozen pipe and the water begins to melt it will need somewhere to go.
- Apply heat to the frozen pipe using a heating pad, a hair dryer, a space heater (away from flammable materials and do not leave unattended) or by wrapping pipes with hot water soaked towels.
- Apply heat until pressure is restored.
Always know where your water supply shut off is. A burst pipe can cause so much damage so quickly. My husband was out of town last week and thankfully he showed me how to do it before he left which was very helpful when our pipes froze while he was gone. Isn't that when it would happen?
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