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Suggestion for frozen pipes

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by lauralynne, Feb 16, 2015.

  1. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    FYI:

    We just came back from vacation and found our pipes frozen. (We turn our water off and our water heater down to prevent bursting when we are away.) We called the water company and several plumbers for advice.

    The water company has this message on their website:
    "Loudoun Water has received a high volume of calls regarding frozen meters and all Field Service staff are working to respond as quickly as possible. It can take 30 minutes to one hour per customer to thaw and insulate a frozen meter. Due to the high volume of calls, our staff is currently working within a 24 hour timeframe. We're working around the clock to get to everyone who leaves a message. If you have already called, you are on our list and we will be there as soon as we can. We thank you for your patience."

    The plumbers we spoke to said that there was nothing they could do since nothing was broken. One advised us to use a hair dryer on the frozen section (in the crawl space) and/or a "blow type" (not "orange glowing" type) space heater. The hair dryer was unsuccessful, but the heater worked. The heater was about 4 feet from the frozen section of pipe, and it took about 30 minutes to work. We left the downstairs taps turned on while we waited for the heater to take effect.

    We also went to our Ashburn Home Depot and bought a Frost King electric heating cable from aisle 30. We plan to install it tomorrow for use in freezing situations going forward.

    Best wishes,
    LL
     
    lauralynne, Feb 16, 2015
    #1
    flynnibus likes this.
  2. webeadams

    webeadams New Member

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    Thanks for the good info! How exactly does the heating cable work and how much does it cost? Does it take the place of the space heater?
     
    webeadams, Feb 20, 2015
    #2
  3. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    This is the info (and a video) on the cable, which was about $30.00 ... http://www.frostking.com/?s=Heat+Cable+Kit&submit=Search
    The idea is that it would prevent the need for the space heater. We still need to getting around to installing the cable!
    Something else we are looking into is buying an insulated cover for the crawlspace window (we would only keep it covered in the winter). The window is not connected to our radon-mitigation system.

    Here's a helpful article on preventing frozen pipes:
    http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to/a9934/8-tips-to-prevent-frozen-pipes/

    Best,
    Laura
     
    lauralynne, Feb 22, 2015
    #3

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