Frozen pipes- any suggestions?
by
Gary Breen
+6
My downstairs bathroom has the pipes on the outside wall and they freeze when the weather is below 25 as it has been for the last week.Any suggestions would be appreciated
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Leave the water on to trickle, it doesn't freeze up so much if it's moving
Keep any cabinet doors open and let water drip a little has always helped
Open the wall and put insulation around the pipes.
I’ve spent the last 6 weeks or so winterizing my house....heat tape on the pipe to thaw it out. I also wrapped my water supply lines in a closed cell foam tube..has a slit on one side to get it on and off. Do you have a hatch to acess your plumbing? Open it and put a heat lamp on it .
Cut a slice down an old pool noodle and wrap it around the pipes.
Build a plywood box without one side and the bottom. Paint box color of house or whatever it's against. Spray the pipes with Pam kitchen spray. Spray expanding foam in the box and put over the pipes. Press until foam is firm. The Pam will keep the foam from adhering to the pipes, but will keep the box snug against the pipes.
For right now, wrap with towels and a tarp. Good luck.
Are the pipes in the wall or are they in a cabinet? If they are running up thru the wall you have to get to them and insulate them. If they are inside of a vanity you can open the doors, clear out the cabinet and use a space heater to warm them. If they are freezing overnight you can use a lamp with a conventional 60W bulb to heat the space. It may be enough if you just leave the doors open so the room's heat takes care of them. Aside from using the room's heat these are not good options if you have children using the batroom unattended.
One place we rented was a turn of the century house with a totally unfinished raw basement. That was where the washer and dryer went. We purchased those heater strips and wrapped them around the water pipes going to the washer. We plugged them in when we knew it was getting really cold. We also took the back off the washer so we could put a small heater behind it before we used the washer to thaw the internal water lines. We would put a bunkhouse heater facing towards the wash tubs so that the drain pipes would be thawed to empty the water that came out of the washer. It could be a hassle at times, but at least we could use the washer that way. Perhaps those stick on heater wires would work for your downstairs bathroom. They worked really well to keep the water pipes open in our basement.
insulate with pipe covering, fine a wal-mart ot plumbing store