Another fun perk of winter!
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
March 5, 2017 9:19am CST
But the extreme cold can wreak other kinds of havoc as well.
I have no water this morning as all my pipes are frozen.
Yesterday was a high of 15, and last night it dipped below zero (Fahrenheit).
I have absolutely no water what so ever! Every single faucet is dry.. I even tried the washing machine, but that's a no go too!
My boys just came to me and asked what they should do about breakfast, they cannot wash bowls, all of our bowls are dirty, so they cannot have cereal.
The pets water dishes are near empty.
We cannot flush the toilet.
We cannot do laundry.
We cannot shower or brush our teeth.
Thank goodness my coffee was already made, hubby makes it the night before and sets a timer..
I do have some bottled water, so we can drink and the pets can drink as well.. it was only by luck that I bought bottled water on Friday. My son asked for it specifically to bring to school with him. Normally we drink tap water as ours is very clean, and we have refillable water bottles to bring with us.
I do not want to use the bottled water for doing dishes though.. though I may have to spare a bottle or two so we can brush our teeth!
I hope it warms up today so the pipes thaw and we can get back to life as normal!
Have you ever had frozen pipes?
7 people like this
6 responses
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Mar 17
Oh gosh, I sure hope it warms up there too . . . is there anything you can do to thaw out frozen pipes (obviously I have no clue as I have never lived with snow).
I remember as a kid, my dad would take a lot of time to do the plumbing himself, and on those days he shut off the water completely - we had to do without water. And during the '94 earthquake, we were (everyone was) without water too for a few days - that was hard!!1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Mar 17
We've dealt without water in the past..
The house we moved into 10 years ago had some serious water issues. We'd only get a trickle in the kitchen sink, and nothing in the tub. The washing machine hook up worked allright.. so I'd have to heat water for a bath and for dishes..
Hubby finally got that fixed after about 3 months of living there!
Normally our washing machine freezes numerous times per year..
This is the first time since we've lived here that all of the pipes have frozen.
The pipes are insulated, and the basement is warm, so I have to assume the freeze is where the water comes into the house.
Nothing much we can do but wait it out and hope it doesn't take more than a day!
2 people like this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
6 Mar 17
@katsmeow1213 Oh wow, so you guys have dealt with it before - not exactly a piece of cake, but you know what to do. Did the pipes finally thaw out?
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
6 Mar 17
@much2say Yes it didn't take too long. We had cold water by 11am and hot water by 4:30pm.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
5 Mar 17
That is definitely not fun to wake up too. We don't have that problem but I remember it use to happen to my mom quite often. I am sure with this bitterly cold weather we have been having you are not alone. Glad you at least have some bottled water to drink and for the pets. I hope it warms up soon for you.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Mar 17
I left all the bottled water in the car, and that's all frozen too!! LOL
I found one partially thawed bottle and used it to brush my teeth..
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169490)
• United States
11 Mar 17
In our previous house, after we lived there thirty years, we had pipes freeze and ruin two hot water heaters and a furnace. Insurance covered that pretty well, but why after all these years it happened I would never know. I do not think it will happen at this house as it is built differently.
@sallypup (69184)
• Centralia, Washington
5 Mar 17
Yes. About a month ago the temps dipped to 18 below and the pipes froze. We had to call a plumber. We also had to buy bottled water cause cats and dogs need water or they will get very ill. And try to explain to chickens and a donkey why they are thirsty. And when the pipes froze our well pump got very unhappy. We did not like the plumber bill but we love his fixing the issue- he said that we needed to let water pour out of the taps not just drip. It was that cold. Good luck to you!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Mar 17
Our pipes have never frozen before.. not like this. Usually it's just the ones leading to the washer. We have all the rest insulated so they aren't supposed to freeze.
I'm not sure what a plumber can do once they're frozen..
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Mar 17
@sallypup Oh yes they freeze horribly in a mobile home! We lived in one for a short period in between houses and we actually had to put a space heater underneath the home to keep the pipes from freezing!
I'd almost completely forgotten about that time..
1 person likes this
@sallypup (69184)
• Centralia, Washington
5 Mar 17
@katsmeow1213 I'm not sure how the plumber did it but he earned his keep, going under our mobile home, into the yucky dark and he unfroze the pipes.
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
6 Mar 17
I have had frozen pipes but not in this house...thankfully. We always have bottled water because I take it to the gym and in the car. Glad you have some too...I hope life is warmer for you now.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Mar 17
The pipes are thawed now. That's never happened before.. normally it's just our washer that freezes. Last night did get particularly cold though.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Mar 17
@DianneN Yep.. we can actually shower tonight and tomorrow morning!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (254926)
• United States
5 Mar 17
@katsmeow1213 I'm so happy and relieved for you. Yay! Thank goodness!
