Advice for pipes in house
Posted by minammikukin@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 14 comments
I'm going to be out of town for the two days it is miserably cold out. I'm looking to some homeowners for some North Texas advice as I'm a new one here.
Should I (1) run all my faucets with a drip/stream for about 3 days or (2) turn off the water at the street, open all the faucets, and turn off my water heater.
For reference I have a 2 story house and the water heater is in the attic.
Thank you for your help
FormerlyUserLFC@reddit
Leave faucets on exterior walls and outdoor spigots dripping.
Leave at least something dripping on hot.
Leave any spigots with pipes in your attic dripping.
Give your neighbor a key. If the power goes out on your street, ask your neighbor to turn off the water going into your house.
If you are paranoid, you can turn water off to your house and drain by leaving open your lowest spigot/faucet.
If you turn off your water, wait until it’s well above freezing and open all spigots in your house and gradually turn the water on while a team of people are listening for burst pipes in the exterior walls and attic.
Hopefully the above is overkill and it’s not exhaustive but hopefully gives you an idea of ways to be safe. I’m not an expert though. The above is a hodgepodge of advice I heard from the Feb 2021 freeze.
Don’t forget about fridge lines in the attic too.
sarahs911@reddit
I’m team turn your water off at the main. During one freeze a couple years ago, a neighbor left her bathroom faucet dripping and it ended up over flowing.
minammikukin@reddit (OP)
Thank you all so much for your replies!!! I think I'm leaning the way of water off at the street
Apart_Ad497@reddit
When turning your water back on after a shutoff, it’s best to run your exterior hose bibs first. This helps flush out any sediment that may have built up in the pipes, preventing it from clogging your sink and appliance filters inside the house.
eastcoast_@reddit
Leave the sinks dripping, cover outdoor spigots, open all cabinets below sinks. Won’t be that cold for that long IMO
K3B1N@reddit
Not for 2 days. That’s crazy. It’s going to be above freezing during the day. Just turn off the water main and not stress about it.
Sportsfanatic88@reddit
Exactly, they wull be out of town. Just turn the whole thing off and run out whatever water that is left in the pipe.
Sportsfanatic88@reddit
LoL downvoted for agreeing with you and giving practical advice. Typical reddit nonsense, why am I not suprised.
lgroost5@reddit
For peace of mind turn off the water at the main run your outside faucet to clear the cold lines. If you want to clear the hot you can do that with an inside faucet. Just be sure to close them after. Have I have dealt with worse water losses with people forgetting to close them after turning off the water they flood their house. With your water heater in the attic and being as it gets colder, the higher you are, I would clear the lines. If you ever want to move that water heater I would recommend it. I have no idea why some builder put them up there to begin with when they eventually leak it like a hot rainstorm in your house.
ThrowTortasAlPastor@reddit
Just shut off the water main. Its not worth the worry. I say this after having my washing machine pipe burst in '21 and had a flooded kitchen. After you turn the water off you will need to get the leftover water remaining in the pipes out. Turn on every sink/shower and let all the water drain. It takes under 5 minutes and costs you maybe $30 for a key at a local hardware store (you can do it without the key if you want to look up some youtube vids and have some other tools). Way cheaper than coming home to a fucked up house. Get some covers for the exterior hose connections. Those are like $.50 a pop.
minammikukin@reddit (OP)
Have you done this before? This is what I'm leaning towards, but I've read you need to also shut off the hot water heater and ice maker also?
ThrowTortasAlPastor@reddit
Yes, after that flood i shut the water off for like 4 days straight during another cold snap (maybe last year) out of paranoia haha. Thats a different prep, but this one should be easy. I didnt touch the water heater nor ice maker. You could run the ice maker for a bit after you shut it the water off to the get the excess water out of that line.
I dont think it will be cold enough for long enough to be a major issue, but im scarred from previous trauma, so id rather be safe.
K3B1N@reddit
Just turn off your water main and not stress about it.
A flat head screw driver can open the meter box and a pair of pliers can turn off the valve.
Marleymayangel@reddit
Hey there, having survived multiple DFW February 'snowmageddons" I would advise to drip anything you can (including showers), open all cabinet doors (under sinks in bathrooms and kitchen), prop your dishwasher door open. What you want to do is encourage airflow (assuming you are leaving your heat on a reasonable temp, i think 68 would be fine)
Since you are going to be out of town you may not be comfortable leaving a portable heater on, but I did that (while home) in a bathroom that was an addition and did not have proper insulation.
Make sure you cover your outside spigots too.
There are also kits you can buy where you wrap your pipes and a heater comes on if it gets too cold. A little over the top for Texas IMO but.
Have never turned off water at the street, maybe someone else can chime in on that.