By Kayla_BlowPop - 03/01/2014 08:34 - Canada - Amherst

Today, my water pipes froze and burst and I now have to take snow from my back yard and boil it down into water in order to flush my toilet. FML
I agree, your life sucks 42 303
You deserved it 3 962

Kayla_BlowPop tells us more.

Kayla_BlowPop 21

Hey, I'm the OP. My pipes burst at about 2:00 AM so I couldn't take water from neighbours or call a friend. We figured out they froze at like five PM and we were all trying to unfreeze them. At that point it was just the hot water that didn't work. It actually happened to us once already, and we fixed it so we didn't think it was a big deal until they burst. We called the plumber the next day and we had water by the time I woke up. It was just my little sister and I who were melting the snow, because we were the only ones who had to pee. We made a really big mess and my sister kept flushing the toilet before we actually had enough water, making us have to start all over again. It was a horrible experience and my older brother refused to help. But now, it's just a really funny story to tell.

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Top comments

fuckyourlifeOP 25

It could be worse, you could have to boil down yellow snow to take a shower.

55 6
stardustjunkie 12

For the sake of one pee, I would've just peed in to something and tipped it outside somewhere (in to soil, grass or something down the back of the garden). But then I've been on plenty of far from luxury hikes and camping trips.. It's not pleasant but needs must! Glad you got it all sorted.

38 1

Comments

miss_jules 11

I am so glad to be living in 'Sunny South Africa'! Good luck, OP!

0 3
paramor3 23

OP I feel your pain - I had the same crisis this morning :( best luck to ya with yours!

3 0
Muttley9 13

It does indeed suck. But at least you have something to flush with. :) And at least the drain pipes are still working... imagine the horror if that burst.

0 0
Kayla_BlowPop 21

Hey, I'm the OP. My pipes burst at about 2:00 AM so I couldn't take water from neighbours or call a friend. We figured out they froze at like five PM and we were all trying to unfreeze them. At that point it was just the hot water that didn't work. It actually happened to us once already, and we fixed it so we didn't think it was a big deal until they burst. We called the plumber the next day and we had water by the time I woke up. It was just my little sister and I who were melting the snow, because we were the only ones who had to pee. We made a really big mess and my sister kept flushing the toilet before we actually had enough water, making us have to start all over again. It was a horrible experience and my older brother refused to help. But now, it's just a really funny story to tell.

71 3
stardustjunkie 12

For the sake of one pee, I would've just peed in to something and tipped it outside somewhere (in to soil, grass or something down the back of the garden). But then I've been on plenty of far from luxury hikes and camping trips.. It's not pleasant but needs must! Glad you got it all sorted.

38 1
Tobamf 18

Did the plumber suggest a longer term solution? surely there must be insulated pipes, or some such offering for colder climates.

15 0
Horsempeg 25

My mom always has this problem. The pipes in her house run outside. What she did was she got heated electric tape and wrapped the pipes with that, it doesn't always work but it definitely helps. Also she leaves the water dribble and opens the cupboards so the cold isn't bottled in there. She also bought a little heater to heat up the pipes which is highly dangerous but that's how we unfroze then! Its tedious but it is better than them bursting! Hope this helps in the future!

18 1
stuckinCB 3

It's ok OP ,im also in NS and our pipes froze too but they didn't break because my mom and i took turns heating them up with the hairdryer

8 0
MrsDruidess 23

its hard to feel bad for you when you knew it was a possibility, I work in plumbing and don't understand why simple measures like insulation aren't taken the first time the pipes freeze. That way you're not scrambling for a plumber at 2am and paying after hours emergency pricing. Foam is cheap, fixing broken pipes and water damage is not. Common sense. also heating up the pipe with direct heat (to poster above me) is really a bad idea, some times it works but mostly you're risking a burst. Heat up the area/room slowly, its better for the pipe.

15 4
stuckinCB 3

we did it for 5 minutes every 15-20 minutes for 2 hours or so,and my mother found more insulation to put around the pipe since it was near the basement window . we havent had a problem since , but the storm had pass

5 0
NotABadName 9

So uhh why didn't you just take a leek outside?

5 5
Nyx_fml 23

Maybe OP is more of a potato type of person, 88.

12 0
darcislove 18

your older brother should have helped! would have made it much easier on you and your sister.

2 0
darcislove 18

thats a smart idea. tho most people are stuck in habit and use the toilet lol

1 1
TheFantasticMuse 8

So I'm not the only one who was bothered by this. You physically CANNOT boil snow, why would you say that?

5 33
shinymaster3000 23

Well obviously the snow melts into water and then starts to boil....

33 2
sassypants93 17

I think the point is you wouldn't need boiling water to flush a toilet...

10 5
misterlandshark 5

quite obviously, snow is a gas and cannot be boiled

1 6
SwtCherryPie 26

I'm in this same situation right now. No water all day. The landlord has been here a while trying to fix it but it's not changed. I've considered getting a pot of snow and melting it so I can have water to flush or rinse dishes off with at least. Thought I was a little strange in thinking of the snow thing. Glad I'm not alone.

2 1
mbuck87 19

You could just thaw it. Boiling it is going too far ;-)

10 1