i want to take a shower - i am so icky...

[ladykemma2]

but i have turned the water off at the main. during a hard freeze i turn the water off and drain the lines. houston, texas houses are not built for cold weather. PIA.

in years past, everyhouse on my street has had frozen pipes but me. i don't have time to play this game, so i turn the water off. yesterday my church had frozen pipes and the resulting mess.

i have the day off and can be icky until it gets above freezing and i can turn the water back on.

does anyone else do this?

[{Jenny}]

our pipes must be better insulated, because I know it gets much colder up here on the East Coast, and we have never turned our water off.

I can relate to feeling icky, I have been awake since 1:30a and patiently waiting for the husband and puppy to wake up, the minute I heard them stirring upstairs I jumped in the shower. Now, I am ready to be lazy all day in my clean pj's.

Hope the temperature warms up for you quickly!!

[Dancing Lotus]

None issue in central Florida but I don't like to get wet when it's cold. I'm a whimp

[hotprincesscm]

I'm in upstate NY, in the midst of the big blizzard that's going on...no frozen pipes here. What I learned growing up though, especially when it got real cold (-20 to -40) is, if you leave the water to drip in each faucet, meaning don't turn it off all the way, that the pipes won't freeze, because there is constant water movement in the lines and they won't freeze! I don't even remember having frozen pipes growing up...ever...even on the coldest of days!

[ladykemma2]

our pipes freeze if it gets to 27-28 or so.

[ladykemma2]

8:30 am temp 33 outside. turned the water back on.

[McD]

Kemma, is your meter and everything outside? I think I heard some places down south have the meters outside and then if there is a cold snap, makes them more susceptible to freezing and bursting.

A lot of our snow birds turn their water off at the meter, empty the pipes, and keep the heat on very low when they are gone for the winter to keep the pipes from freezing.

[krbshappy71]

I turn off the outdoor pipes for the season but that's it. I've never turned off the indoor water, I am in Northern Colorado. I only turn off the outdoor ones because I shut down the sprinkler system.

[ladykemma2]

Kemma, is your meter and everything outside? I think I heard some places down south have the meters outside and then if there is a cold snap, makes them more susceptible to freezing and bursting.

A lot of our snow birds turn their water off at the meter, empty the pipes, and keep the heat on very low when they are gone for the winter to keep the pipes from freezing.

the meters are outside, but that's not necessarily what freezes. what freezes are the spigots for the garden hoses, pipe in attics, and pipes that pass through unheated garages.

[ladykemma2]

yeah, last week y'all were thowing snowballs at me for it being 80 outside. hee hee.

this is houston 80 one day, 28 the next.

[bonnotsm9]

When we lived in Houston we left the faucets running a little when it got below 32 degrees. That kept the pipes from freezing for us.

[rosey7415]

I'm in upstate NY, in the midst of the big blizzard that's going on...no frozen pipes here. What I learned growing up though, especially when it got real cold (-20 to -40) is, if you leave the water to drip in each faucet, meaning don't turn it off all the way, that the pipes won't freeze, because there is constant water movement in the lines and they won't freeze! I don't even remember having frozen pipes growing up...ever...even on the coldest of days!

i second this. that is what we all do up here. it works. (massachusetts) another small thing we do is open the cabinets under the sink in the kitchen and in the bathroom so the heat gets to it. it will help those pipes anyways.

[Luckybustert]

I hate feeling icky, so we have an emergency supply of baby wipes to clean up with if needed.