What is the deal with turning your water on?

[Frank]

I always hear "make sure to turn your water on to trickle so your pipes don't freeze." What I don't hear is which ones? Hot? Cold? Both? Just one sink or all of them? Bathtubs and showers too? What about outdoors faucets?


How about wrapping outside faucets? I always understood the ones that go through brick work are "frost-free" and not suseptible to to freezing since the actual valve is deep inside the insulated walls. What if you didn't wrap ground spigots before the freeze? Any point doing it now?

[Chili]

I always hear "make sure to turn your water on to trickle so your pipes don't freeze." What I don't hear is which ones? Hot? Cold? Both? Just one sink or all of them? Bathtubs and showers too? What about outdoors faucets?


How about wrapping outside faucets? I always understood the ones that go through brick work are "frost-free" and not suseptible to to freezing since the actual valve is deep inside the insulated walls. What if you didn't wrap ground spigots before the freeze? Any point doing it now?

The running water thing is just to keep the water flowing which will prevent it from freezing, though I thought you only had to do that on pier and beam houses. I would do cold, so you're not wasting your hot water and causing the heater to work more than necessary.

[SMKR]

well, I wasnt doing this and just tried turning the water on and nothing is coming out, now im thinking I maybe should have trickled both.

[Ruffdaddy]

It's not necessarily to prevent freezing, but to allow an escape for the pressure built up when the pipes do freeze. Because ice expands in areas, the remaining water has to go somewhere.

[71chevellejohn]

My apartment complex(definitely not pier/beam) always puts out notices when it's going to freeze - they say to let the cold side drip. They also ask everyone to leave the cabinets open so that the warm air can get to the pipes inside.

How much it helps... I don't know.

[Barbie]

None of my sinks are on outside walls so I'm not doing it they are all on interior walls so I think they are plenty warm

[Samhain]

It's not necessarily to prevent freezing, but to allow an escape for the pressure built up when the pipes do freeze. Because ice expands in areas, the remaining water has to go somewhere.

This.

[kingjason]

Shit my main line froze up last year and took till about mid day to thaw out with no issues. This year we made sure we dripped the faucets all over the house. Ill be damned if this morning my main shower would not flow worth a damn. Left it on wide open for a little over an hour and it came back alive. So tonight I am dripping everything that flows water in the damn house. Mine is a concrete slab also.

[line-em-up]

...

It will help prevent freezing. If the water sits in the pipe, it may eventually freeze without a heat source. If you let it drip, then the underground water, which is above freezing will constantly warm the pipe. I forgot to make mine drip last night and spent the day getting my water back on.

[SMKR]

It will help prevent freezing. If the water sits in the pipe, it may eventually freeze without a heat source. If you let it drip, then the underground water, which is above freezing will constantly warm the pipe. I forgot to make mine drip last night and spent the day getting my water back on.

what did you do to get it back on?

[Chili]

Hell, I guess I'll turn one of ours on..

[kingjason]

what did you do to get it back on?

Usually just leaving it open will clear it up. If not you need to figure out the source and put a heater in the area. Last year mine was the main one running down the side wall on an exterior wall. We just opened the cabinets, turned on all the faucets and showers and it finally broke thru.

[GE]

It will help prevent freezing. If the water sits in the pipe, it may eventually freeze without a heat source. If you let it drip, then the underground water, which is above freezing will constantly warm the pipe. I forgot to make mine drip last night and spent the day getting my water back on.

Not really, water can freeze even with a slow flow. Opening up the faucet provides relief from the pressure build up between the faucet and the ice blockage when it freezes.

[Lone Sailor]

none of my sinks are on outside walls so i'm not doing it they are all on interior walls so i think they are plenty warm

lol! Wut?!

[line-em-up]

...

what did you do to get it back on?

Fortunately, the hot side wasn't frozen solid. I turned the faucet on and left it on. Eventually, it started dripping and the warmer water from the water heater was able to melt it. With the exception of the toilet, the cold water was completely frozen. I opened the faucets and used a blow drier to heat the pipes. It took hours to get them flowing again. It would have been easier and cheaper to leave them trickling during the night. I just forgot to turn them on.