Tips To Prepare For Long Duration Freezing Weather Events

[cycloneye]

Another important thing is for those who have pets to protect them.

[DanKellFla]

Being without water after a freeze is just as bad as not having A/C after a hurricane. I had pipes freeze in 1985....it sucked.....MGC

I disagree, no water is worse. We don't think about it much, but civilization is built on sanitation. If there is no way to get rid of our waste things get bad very quickly. That is why after a storm I draw the line at a lack of water. When I can't flush the toilet, I leave.

[breeze]

We leave the cabinet doors slightly open under the sinks in the house, too. That helps
to keep the pipes warm.

As for the outside faucets, (ours is in the ground), we always wrap them in old clothing
and newspapers, then turn a 5-gallon bucket over them (with a brick on top to keep it
from blowing over).

And, it doesn't hurt to use anything clean that you can find to fill up with water - just
in case you end up without water, anyway. Sometimes a city water main can break and,
no matter what preventative measures you've taken, you'll still be without water, so stock
up early.

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

re freezing pipes people up here in the Arctic North (the Canadian Plains are often that cold) open cupboard doors, where pipes are located, and have an electric heater blowing in (if their house isn't insulated well enough...ours just had insulation put in a couple of years ago). Must admit it seems strange seeing peeps worry about temps that are just going a few degrees below freezing (but I gather your houses were built differently than ours).

Regarding outside watering hoses we disconnect them, drain the water out of them, and turn off the water that leads to the outdoor taps (after that valve is shut off we turn on the tap to make sure the pipe is drained of all water).

A couple layers of natural fibre clothes (NOT tight fitting) and a wind breaker will keep peeps warm here at really cold temps (the above will do us in a pinch if our winter coats haven't been dug out of summer storage and a cold snap moves in).

Pam (who lives where it can get to -50F and much, much, much colder with wind chill).

[Shoshana]

^ lol ... here at 48F I'm already wearing a tshirt, sweatshirt and a big puffy (Dallas Cowboy's) jacket! Below freezing I add a hat under my multiple hoods, gloves, long underwear and boots. I can't move very well, but if I fall it doesn't hurt much... but I can't get up again easily either!

The back of our house faces north and that's where all the windows are. Great in the Texas summer, not so great when a norther blows in!!!

We have covers on our outside faucets but there's no cutoff for them.

Our dog is a house dog and now has a fleece sweater thingie. She doesn't mind the cold but she only goes out to do her business or play with us in the yard or go on a walk.

I'm just not sure what to do about our water heater - it's over our garage in the attic. That attic roof faces south so it does stay warmer than the garage or outdoors. Does the jacket protect just the heater itself? What do you do about the pipes leading to and from the heater?

[JonathanBelles]

For those wondering why Plant City Florida (Known for its strawberries) uses ice to keep the strawberries from freezing, here is a very good link:

http://www.flastrawberry.com/video.aspx

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

Shoshana you don't have one ounce of anti-freeze in you! BTW where I work a couple of Texans come in and they tend to leave their heavy coats done up for the hour or two they are inside (I finally went over to them and said you are defeating the purpose of wearing those coats...you will overheat, then sweat and then when you go outside you *will*, without a doubt, freeze).

One of my fellow co-workers daughters and a friend just came back from San Diego...they said it was 28F when they were there and they went to the beach where they stripped down to their bathing suits and ran on the beach before jumping in the ocean). For some reason or other the Californians were dressed like it was -30F and just about died when they saw our Canadian girls going in for a dip.

Our dog is an outside dog and he grows an amazing winter coat (we do have a heater in the shed however that keeps it just above freezing in there and our backyard is also protected from North winds (it also helps to live 1/2 way down the north side of a valley hill).

re your water heater (here they are put in our basements)... I know electric heat wraps for pipes can be purchased to keep pipes from freezing (you sure wouldn't have to plug yours in for very long) or you could open the trap door to your attic in the evening and let some of your house heat escape up there.

We use sprinklers here too to cover our plants with ice come those early fall/late spring frosts (or our flannel sheets).

[Dionne]

When it gets cold like this my lips get chapped easily. I've tried everything, nothing worked. Recently a friend from the Yukon territory told me about Moose droppings. What you do is rub them on your lips. I don't know if it prevents chapped lips? But I do know it keeps you from licking your lips.

[attallaman]

When it gets cold like this my lips get chapped easily. I've tried everything, nothing worked. Recently a friend from the Yukon territory told me about Moose droppings. What you do is rub them on your lips. I don't know if it prevents chapped lips? But I do know it keeps you from licking your lips.

Moose droppings? That sounds nasty.

[Shoshana]

The attic where our water heater is is in the attic that's above the garage, not the attic above the house. The garage is attached to the house, they're on the south side of the house and the sun does warm them up some. Can't keep the attic door open because it's in the way if we want to actually put the car in the garage plus the garage isn't heated anyway. But TY for suggestion!!!

I'm sending DH up to see if the pipes to the water heater and from are already wrapped. When he comes home from work.

We don't tend to actually have basements here (slab foundation) but it's a newish trend to have the water heater and a/c furnace in the attic (our a/c and furnace are in the main attic). My sister's house in Dallas has the water heater in the garage and the a/c and heat pump in an interior closet. I've been there when it got down into the teens and I froze - heat pumps can't keep up with that very well!

Right now I'm pulling out all the winter blankets and doing my best to weather proof the house as far as air leaks...

[Frank P]

Don't forget to insulate your exposed P-traps for your tub/shower drains if you have a raised house.. I forgot all about mine and will insulate them this afternoon, or I guess you could run your tub water .... if they freeze then you can't drain your tubs...

[Stephanie]

^ lol ... here at 48F I'm already wearing a tshirt, sweatshirt and a big puffy (Dallas Cowboy's) jacket!

Heck! That's SHORTS AND T-SHIRT weather!

Actually, you would be amazed at the number of people that you may see in shorts or a t-shirt and jeans when it does hit a balmy 48F and above. It's like spring has arrived!

[Siberian Express]

^ lol ... here at 48F I'm already wearing a tshirt, sweatshirt and a big puffy (Dallas Cowboy's) jacket!

Heck! That's SHORTS AND T-SHIRT weather!

Actually, you would be amazed at the number of people that you may see in shorts or a t-shirt and jeans when it does hit a balmy 48F and above. It's like spring has arrived!

haha...a 48 I'd drop the shirt, set out the lawn chair, fire up the barby and catch some rays!.....Looks like my 'moniker' has come home to roost for our southern friends.

But seriously, I do on occasion have to open the the lower cabinet where water pipes are, that does help. Specifically on a north, northwest wall.

[Shoshana]

Good news! Pipes in attic for water heater are all insulated..

Y'all are trippin! 48 and shorts and a tshirt? eep.

I'll open the cabinet below the kitchen sink after I put the pup in her crate for the night. Can't have her gettin into stuff!

[Stephanie]

Good news! Pipes in attic for water heater are all insulated..

Y'all are trippin! 48 and shorts and a tshirt? eep.

I'll open the cabinet below the kitchen sink after I put the pup in her crate for the night. Can't have her gettin into stuff!

Believe it. I don't do it, but I've seen it. Actually, once you get anything close to a winter thaw it feels like spring and the fever breaks out.

Good news about the pipes in the attic.

[gtalum]

We had a frozen pipe this morning, the valve that comes out of the ground and into the house. Fortunately nothing burst. I forgot to run a faucet last night.

5 minutes standing outside with the hairdryer cured the problem. This cold is crazy.

[Stephanie]

We had a frozen pipe this morning, the valve that comes out of the ground and into the house. Fortunately nothing burst. I forgot to run a faucet last night.

5 minutes standing outside with the hairdryer cured the problem. This cold is crazy.

I'm glad that nothing burst and you were able to get it unfrozen.

[cycloneye]

Steve,I think we can let the sticky for the rest of winter.

[srainhoutx]

I'll bump this thread up and sticky it again as it appears a long duration Freeze Event will begin starting early next week.

[Tireman4]

We ( last year when it got into the 20's) left the water on drip upstairs and downstairs.