By Kayla_BlowPop - 03/01/2014 08:34 - Canada - Amherst
Kayla_BlowPop tells us more.
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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I am so glad to be living in 'Sunny South Africa'! Good luck, OP!
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.
Then you must be from canada
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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
So uhh why didn't you just take a leek outside?
Maybe OP is more of a potato type of person, 88.
your older brother should have helped! would have made it much easier on you and your sister.
thats a smart idea. tho most people are stuck in habit and use the toilet lol
When it's yellow, let it mellow...
You mean melted the snow??
Well obviously the snow melts into water and then starts to boil....
quite obviously, snow is a gas and cannot be boiled
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.
You could just thaw it. Boiling it is going too far ;-)
Did you have power outages #42 ?
you should've closed your pipes
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It could be worse, you could have to boil down yellow snow to take a shower.
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.