4 ms·

Ask HN: Do run water out of all taps of your apt/house to avoid pipe freeze?

badwolf 4y ago
I think the 'common recommendation' is one is enough, but typically drip the one that is furthest from where the water comes into your house.
aurizon 4y ago
best is to shutoff water at street - if not street then house input, and open all taps to empty system. Pour anti freeze in all sink traps. Empty toilet basin and add anti freeze. Cover toilet if you have pets who drink from toilet. If you want working water, no heat while you still live there (Ukraine) then all runs will need to be empty or to have flowing water relief. Flow relief is a fast dripping tap, just short of a stream for the coldest weather -20C or so.
- alamortsubite 4y ago
  These are good tips. I'd add that unless the plumbing has been thoughtfully installed with future draining in mind (unusual in many places), after gravity draining it may be necessary to force remaining water out of the pipes using compressed air, especially if they are copper (PVC and especially PEX are more resilient to freezing).
HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
Am I missing something here or did you lose your heat?
- yuppie_scum 4y ago
  Old houses in places with real winter weather can have issues where pipes are in poorly insulated spaces, unheated fieldstone basements, etc.
- readonthegoapp 4y ago
  i'm actually in a luxury-ish apartment building in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia, US of A -- built in the last 5-10 years -- and they've been leaving "CAREFUL OF THE FREEZE IT'S COMING ANY DAY NOW I SWEAR JUST FAR ENOUGH OUT SO THIS SIGN WILL BE MEANINGLESS" signs out for weeks/months, and we finally have a freeze, and they send emails and notifications with these really detailed instructions on how to waste wa.....errr, on how to not freeze your pipes. Run all the taps, esp if/when you go to bed or leave the apt, esp if you go out of town, but not too much, or don't if you leave town because too high a risk of flooding, mabye, and don't let the apt heat go below 60, and... Atlanta gets tons of rain (at this particular moment in the global warming cycle), so i don't think we'll have problems there anytime soon -- but all this water advice just seems a bit... 1970s? one day you're reading about the importance of heat pumps in the fight against global warming, the next day your apartment complex is telling you to run the water all day/night. I remember this type of thing existed where i grew up in a house in NJ, but... is this the way it is everywhere in cold climates? like, do the apt buildings in Minneapolis run their water all night? i haven't been running the water. thing is, if a pipe did freeze, it sounds pretty catastrophic. like... flooding, you're moving out of your apartment, everyone below you is moving out of their apartments, tens of thousands of dollars in water damage, etc. whole thing is a bit bizarre. but maybe there is no simple, non-wasteful tech solution? the apt barely gets down to 60 when the temp drops to 40s, but outside temp is 19 F right now during the day (part of the cold spell), and i've been liking to actually use the heat the past few days, so i don't really plan on testing anything, tho now i'm curious how low the apt temp will go with outside temps actually pretty low/freezing -- presumably we're getting heat/insulation thru walls/hallway/etc. https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/atlanta/30303/weather-radar/348181 https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/atlanta/30303/weather-rada...
  - readonthegoapp 4y ago
    My buddy lives in a similar style apt north of Atlanta His fire alarm has been going off intermittently for days And right now Just past midnight on a school night It's from burst pipes Message from management is "Please drip your pipes!"

I think the 'common recommendation' is one is enough, but typically drip the one that is furthest from where the water comes into your house.

aurizon 4y ago

best is to shutoff water at street - if not street then house input, and open all taps to empty system. Pour anti freeze in all sink traps. Empty toilet basin and add anti freeze. Cover toilet if you have pets who drink from toilet. If you want working water, no heat while you still live there (Ukraine) then all runs will need to be empty or to have flowing water relief. Flow relief is a fast dripping tap, just short of a stream for the coldest weather -20C or so.

alamortsubite 4y ago
These are good tips. I'd add that unless the plumbing has been thoughtfully installed with future draining in mind (unusual in many places), after gravity draining it may be necessary to force remaining water out of the pipes using compressed air, especially if they are copper (PVC and especially PEX are more resilient to freezing).

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago

Am I missing something here or did you lose your heat?

yuppie_scum 4y ago
Old houses in places with real winter weather can have issues where pipes are in poorly insulated spaces, unheated fieldstone basements, etc.
readonthegoapp 4y ago
i'm actually in a luxury-ish apartment building in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia, US of A -- built in the last 5-10 years -- and they've been leaving "CAREFUL OF THE FREEZE IT'S COMING ANY DAY NOW I SWEAR JUST FAR ENOUGH OUT SO THIS SIGN WILL BE MEANINGLESS" signs out for weeks/months, and we finally have a freeze, and they send emails and notifications with these really detailed instructions on how to waste wa.....errr, on how to not freeze your pipes. Run all the taps, esp if/when you go to bed or leave the apt, esp if you go out of town, but not too much, or don't if you leave town because too high a risk of flooding, mabye, and don't let the apt heat go below 60, and... Atlanta gets tons of rain (at this particular moment in the global warming cycle), so i don't think we'll have problems there anytime soon -- but all this water advice just seems a bit... 1970s? one day you're reading about the importance of heat pumps in the fight against global warming, the next day your apartment complex is telling you to run the water all day/night. I remember this type of thing existed where i grew up in a house in NJ, but... is this the way it is everywhere in cold climates? like, do the apt buildings in Minneapolis run their water all night? i haven't been running the water. thing is, if a pipe did freeze, it sounds pretty catastrophic. like... flooding, you're moving out of your apartment, everyone below you is moving out of their apartments, tens of thousands of dollars in water damage, etc. whole thing is a bit bizarre. but maybe there is no simple, non-wasteful tech solution? the apt barely gets down to 60 when the temp drops to 40s, but outside temp is 19 F right now during the day (part of the cold spell), and i've been liking to actually use the heat the past few days, so i don't really plan on testing anything, tho now i'm curious how low the apt temp will go with outside temps actually pretty low/freezing -- presumably we're getting heat/insulation thru walls/hallway/etc. https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/atlanta/30303/weather-radar/348181 https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/atlanta/30303/weather-rada...
- readonthegoapp 4y ago
  My buddy lives in a similar style apt north of Atlanta His fire alarm has been going off intermittently for days And right now Just past midnight on a school night It's from burst pipes Message from management is "Please drip your pipes!"