What to do about frozen pipes?

The worst for us is the washing machine’s pipe freezing, because we can’t let that one drip.

Our kitchen sink is the most consistent one. It’s the closest to the crawl space entry.

@3 Light bulb is a good idea. Not a strong watt one, something small. Someone just told me on the phone that you should also leave the faucet slightly open when the pipe is frozen so that there is room for the thawed pipe to send water instead of bursting, not sure about that but it makes sense.

We deal with this every year at our fourplex.

First, make sure crawlspace is properly sealed. If the house has crawlspace vents, there are a couple of ways to do this. Just remember to unseal when spring rolls around, as those vents prevent mold and mildew in your crawlspace!

If you have square vents, you’ll need wire, some plywood, and fiberglass insulation. Cut the plywood to be a few inches larger than the vent and drill two small holes in the center. Cut the insulation about the same size as the plywood. Have the wire looped around the vent grill or a peice of scrap wood inside the cellar. Each end of the wire should go through the insulation and through one of the holes in the plywood. Pull the wire tight and twist it until the plywood forces the insulation tight against the house and the vent opening.

Some older houses have brick foundations with air gaps left at regular intervals between two bricks. Stuff the gaps with either Styrofoam insulation, broken to fit, or rags/fiberglass/whatever. U do not recomend foam sealant, as you will have a very hard time removing it so that the crawlspace can be properly vented in warm weather.

Next, put a worklight/clamp light in the crawlspace. Make sure it uses a traditional incandescent bulb, not sure why but LEDS and CFLs don’t seem to work. You ill also need an extension cors. Make sure the light is switched on, then seal the cellar entrance using one of the previously mentioned methods. Either plug the light/extension cord in when the temperature falls below freezing, or if you get frozen pipes. The light, combined with the pressure in the pipes and the sealed space should be enough to gradually raise the temperature in the cellar to an acceptable level without the fire risk oosed by using a heater.

If your pipes are already frozen and you know where the line is frozen, use a hair dryer pr a heat gun.

I recommend against heaters due to the fire risk. Also, I realize that a lot of these steps are, ideally, done before it gets cold/snowy, but better late than never!

Leaving the faucet dripping is a fine short term measure for certain faucets. Only partially helps for items that only have one control for both water lines (some kitchen sinks, some showers). And you can’t really drip a washing machine or fridge water line.

We’ve done our best to close crawl space vents for the winter. We had a plumber come and attempt to wrap the pipes in the crawl space. But even crawling on his belly could not fit all the way back to the kitchen where the majority of the pipes are. Nor has any other plumber, pest control, etc guy been able to fit back there.

I’m not really interested in putting a heater in the crawlspace. Seems like a serious fire hazard. Also seems like something home insurance would void your coverage for should it cause a fire. The last thing I need in my life is a house fire that isn’t covered by insurance.

I’m not sure where this leaves me. I can’t rely on this drip strategy forever. It is not a solution for all my water lines. We bought this house with the idea it would be a forever house. But I can’t go thru this ridiculousness every winter. I don’t even understand how all the past inhabitants of this 100 year old house would have lived with this year after year and not really remedied it… Sigh… I’m originally from frigid New England and frozen pipes never had to dominate the thoughts or my neighbors or my family. Yet in Churchill 2/3 of the neighbors I’ve talked to on my block have had a pipe freeze one time or another…

Anyway, after building up a little more cash reserve I suppose I have to begin to get estimates for a drastic solution. Perhaps ripping up the kitchen floor/subfloor and having all the pipes wrapped. And if I go that route probably having some of the dirt under the kitchen excavated so that part of the crawlspace can be accessible to service technicians once the floor is restored.

So I guess my question would be… anyone go through something similar and actually solve the problem in a permanent way? Most specifically interested in anyone who has done so while addressing the issue of a crawl space that is too shallow for service workers even when bellycrawling?

Paul – I think the thing to keep in mind is that houses here were probably built with hot summers in mind. Not sure that particularly cold winters were or are the norm. Regardless, they make heating cables which can be wrapped around or taped to pipes (they also make some that go INSIDE the pipe, apparently, but that seems a little drastic). Maybe you should look into those? I’m thinking of doing this going forward, as it sounds like they are cost effective and work pretty well.