Plumbing question. Pipes may be frozen.

[Potomac-Greg]

We have one bathroom with nonfunctioning water (at the sink) while the remainder of the house is fine. Outside temperature and the location of the bathroom suggest frozen feeder pipes. There's no leaking at this time, but that could be a matter of time (thawing).

I'm calling a plumber today but fully expect to be told they're booked all week. Pipes are white plastic (PVC?).

Suggestions?

[trytryagain]

Crank up the heat in the bathroom. You may be able thaw the pipes, which with any luck may not have cracked. The longer things stay frozen the greater the chance of damage.

[vranko]

The water is completely out at our house :grrr: I tried heating up the entry pipe near it's first release point (the outside hose connection that I did shut for the winter). Didn't do anything. I think the problem is outside the house.

Near our curb I have a cover to access the water meter. It's really the only place I can think of that is exposed to the cold. Have been calling Fairfax Water all morning but as expected their lines are busy :bang::bang:

[Dandelion]

I was told to do the following when it got really cold out:

1) For sinks that are sitting on a cabinet, open the cabinet doors so air can circulate around the pipes

2) leave the water open a small amount in various parts of the house, so water can't get cold soaked sitting in a cold pipe somewhere.

Dunno if these actually do anything, but that's what an apartment complex I lived in recommended.

ed

[Potomac-Greg]

Thanks. Good advice all.

[good hands]

If you do have a break damage is covered by home insurance as long as it's within the walls of the home. If a pipe breaks outside there may be coverage available through your water company or electric company. Worth looking into.

[Vicegrip]

John. Open the meter box and stick a hair dryer in it.
If you can't reach power to it get 2 large garbage bags and a big bucket of hot water Put one bag in the other and place them on top of the meter and piping in the pit Pour the hot water into the bag and let the bags flow around the meter. This way you don't fill the pit with water as you can lift the bags out when the meter warms up. If this fixes it put some insulation in the pit on top of the meter but not between and the ground

[vranko]

Thanks VG! I was about to do that when Fairfax Water came to the door and told me they just did the same. Wanter is running now.

Kudos to Fairfax Water repair service and technician! They came soon after I was able to get ahold of the call center (that took about 2 hours!). The technician added some insulation to our meter box (actually more like a 2-3 foot deep round well covered with a small man hole cover). He said the big issue is that the well is so close to the dirt wall/cliff in front of our house. Hard to keep insulated when the well has no soil around it on one side.

[Trak Ratt]

Just got an email from work saying my building will be closed for at least 2 weeks due to water damage from roof mounted gear!!! Sounds like major GSA snafu...

Good thing I've been working from home for last 2 months so I have my computer at here and can carry on :bang::bang: