As many of you have heard or experienced, the midwest just went through a deep freeze. It brought bone chilling nightmares of last winter back. Gloves, hats, double socks, boots, and triple layers were donned. We survived and we will survive again. However, everything wasn't heated blankets and wool socks.
On Tuesday night, our landlord asked us to keep our pipes dripping in order to prevent our pipes from freezing. Great, sounds good. I woke up Wednesday morning, everything was great. By the time I got home at around 4:30 all our bathroom pipes were frozen and me, the girl who grew up in a house built in the 80s, had no idea what to do. After some back and forth with my roommate and our landlord he said we needed a space heater. With some research, I also found out we needed to keep the faucets open so any pressure could release. Wednesday night I took a shower at a friend who lives around the block's house and my roommate was going to get a space heater the next morning. Dandy.
Thursday morning, still no water but hopefully the space heater in our bathroom and the space heater our landlord was going to put in the basement near the pipes that lead up to our bathroom was going to thaw them. I get a text while I was nannying that evening that the pipes had unfroze, yeah! I get home and I am not home ten minutes and the power goes out. The space heater was just too much for the old electrical wiring to handle. My landlord was going to be home within a half hour but I just wanted to go to bed. Of course my phone and tablet were almost dead so I couldn't trust it to wake me in the morning. Naturally, I turn all the lights on and go to bed so that when the electricity did come back on the light would wake me up. Thankfully a quick switch of the fuse, we had electricity, I woke up, set my alarm and back off to sleep I was.
Friday was uneventful, but obviously this is not where the story is going to end. We kept the space heater on when we were home and water dripping. I go to bed Friday night confident that this was all behind us. I wake up Saturday and quickly realize we don't have hot water in the bathroom. Apparently it is so cold that the hot and cold water needs to be trickling. Let me add that our house is by no means cold, it is just that these pipes run essentially in an exterior wall and apparently get cold fast. I turn the space heater on nearly all day but still nothing more than a periodic trickle. I go to bed Saturday night planning to take a bucket shower in the morning because we still have hot water in the kitchen. I set my alarm for every few hours to check and see if the water came on. Around 6 I text my landlord just to let him know that it is still off. He realizes that the space heater got turned off with the power going off. He turns it on and not a half hour later and we have water!! Saturday night was the last day of the deep freeze and since then the temperatures have been at a balmy 28-35 degrees. Ideal conditions for freezing rain but not frozen pipes.
What have I learned from this. Don't take electricity, cold AND hot water for granted.
Natalie, my wife and I know exactly what you are talking about. Unfortunately, neither of us is mechanically inclined. But very fortunately, I have a buddy who is a plumber and another who is an electrician. There is nothing like having water and electricity running properly. I suppose that means we’re spoiled in this day and age. Still love it and wouldn’t want to live without it.
ReplyDeleteLane Pemberton @ Metcalfe Heating & Air Conditioning
We needed to get the heat fixed in the house, and I was able to get an appointment when I had time. I have a busy schedule at home, and I could not afford to wait around all day. This company came out to the house at the right time, and they got the heat turned on without a problem.
ReplyDeleteRosa Nelson @ HVAC Services Philadelphia
Wow, what a winter! I have never lived up north, so I have never experienced that. However, I live in a state that gets frequent hurricanes, so I have been without electricity and water for sometime. When you go without, you learn how to appreciate them all the more once you get them back. Hope you are having an uneventful winter this year!
ReplyDeleteTommy Hopkins @ Accu Temp