no heat in home and pipes froze! southern indiana area

Guys, what can I do to get my pipes unfrozen? We have no water, no toilet, nothing. The gas company wants this deposit since im a new customer having moved in a month ago, but i can't afford it so there is no heat in the house. this -25 degree fahrenheit weather is horrible. I mean I have a space heater in my bedroom and my son has one for his and we turn the electric oven on to about 350 and open the door all day, but it's NOT helping the pipes.

I can afford to turn on my heat end of january/middle of Feb once my work checks become big again. December and our 2 week shut down for the break really financially killed me here.

You need to wrap the pipes with an electric tape warmer to unfreeze the water. You can probably buy them at a local hardware store. Of course, you will need electricity to complete the task.

I have electricity. afaik there's no hardware store within walking distance here. how much does this electrical tape stuff cost? I never heard of it. Do I just wrap it around where the pipes are under the kitchen and bath room sinks?

Are you handy in plumbing? Because when they thaw you're gonna need to be there....if you can get your water running, keep the faucets on a slow drip to keep water moving so it won't freeze.
Newspaper is a good "temporary " insulator... Roll it in tubes and stick around window cracks and door frames to keep air out.
Do you have a wood stove? Or fireplace? Or only electric heat? ....circular fans can help move warm air around in your house too. ...keep your sink cupboard doors open to allow more heat around your pipes. The closed doors will act as a barrier.

reply to post by Jim Scott


What he said.

I also found a topic:

www.homesteadingtoday.com...

Edit: Someone put something interesting on there I have never considered before which is rerouting your dryer vent if you have one to under the house if that's where the frozen pipes are.

Either way good luck.

If it's a mild freeze leaving your water running (dripping steadily) can sometimes delay the freezing, sometimes not. It is really cold and nothing you do at this point may help. I do remember being young without heat and my parents would always let all the faucets drip continuously.... but it wasn't -25 either.

I understand the whole deposit thing. Hard times do indeed suck very badly. I hope you can get something to work OP.

Meldionne1
Are you handy in plumbing? Because when they thaw you're gonna need to be there....if you can get your water running, keep the faucets on a slow drip to keep water moving so it won't freeze.
Newspaper is a good "temporary " insulator... Roll it in tubes and stick around window cracks and door frames to keep air out.
Do you have a wood stove? Or fireplace? Or only electric heat? ....circular fans can help move warm air around in your house too. ...keep your sink cupboard doors open to allow more heat around your pipes. The closed doors will act as a barrier.

Handy in plumbing? not at all.
oh god are they going to burst and i'll have water everywhere???? I'm in a mobile home, single wide. I'm scared now. should I forego my space heater for a while and let it blast onto the pipes in the bathroom maybe?

I only have two space heaters and the electric oven i use to heat the house right now. zero heat. i can't afford the gas deposit to get the furnace on.

Try to borrow the money. Frozen pipes are no big deal ... until they burst. Then you may be looking at a very expensive repair.

reply to post by sarra1833
You can get stuff shipped overnight to your house if you order it online. www.ebay.com... Good luck.

reply to post by sarra1833
In your mobile home, single-wide, you need to first make a solid wall around where the skirt area is located, then put one of the space heaters under the mobile home to pull the temperature down below freezing. Concentrate the heat around where the exposed pipes are located. Trap the heat in that area if possible. You may get a little messy, but you will prevent a big problem later with broken pipes.

If you have a landlord, would alert them as it sounds like your pipe heat strip is out. However, could be it's just that cold. I'm no plumber lol, I just had a lot of plumbing issues that I am still dealing with from the below zero weather last month. The heat strip heats the area of the pipes where the water coming into your places pipes. I'm seeing they cost, minimal amount about 30 bucks and up. Also, carefully use heating gun to break the ice within the pipes, don't put an actual heater up to the pipes however as it can melt plastic pipes, blow drier may work. Heating gun you may be able to rent at a hardware store if you can't access one.

Jim Scott
reply to post by sarra1833

 

In your mobile home, single-wide, you need to first make a solid wall around where the skirt area is located, then put one of the space heaters under the mobile home to pull the temperature down below freezing. Concentrate the heat around where the exposed pipes are located. Trap the heat in that area if possible. You may get a little messy, but you will prevent a big problem later with broken pipes.

Heh, I'd not even know where or how to begin. I have no extention cords or anything like that.
God this is horrifying. I have like 30 dollars to my name....

reply to post by sarra1833


Sometimes when pipes freeze, they break from the expansion of the ice..... When they thaw you have broken pipes and leaks...and depending on the freeze and type of pipes, plumbing ,you have..... You may have nothing happen ( keep your fingers crossed), or you may have a mess. You may have more than one leak too....I'd suggest figuring out NOW where your main water shut off valve is located. That way when your pipes thaw, and only if you have a problem with leaks, then you can shut the water off before it floods your whole place and control it.
Also, the other poster suggested electrical warming tape for your pipes . That will help a lot, just make sure you wrap it on the metal pipe, and not on any insulation on pipes . That can cause a fire. And make sure you do or do not need any extension cords to plug it in? Just a thought so you done make 2 trios to the store.
Again, newspaper is a cheap temporary fix for around windows and door cracks...to keep drafts out. It's not pretty, but it's cheap.

Meldionne1
reply to post by sarra1833

 

Sometimes when pipes freeze, they break from the expansion of the ice..... When they thaw you have broken pipes and leaks...and depending on the freeze and type of pipes, plumbing ,you have..... You may have nothing happen ( keep your fingers crossed), or you may have a mess. You may have more than one leak too....I'd suggest figuring out NOW where your main water shut off valve is located. That way when your pipes thaw, and only if you have a problem with leaks, then you can shut the water off before it floods your whole place and control it.
Also, the other poster suggested electrical warming tape for your pipes . That will help a lot, just make sure you wrap it on the metal pipe, and not on any insulation on pipes . That can cause a fire. And make sure you do or do not need any extension cords to plug it in? Just a thought so you done make 2 trios to the store.
Again, newspaper is a cheap temporary fix for around windows and door cracks...to keep drafts out. It's not pretty, but it's cheap.

I went and checked the pipes under the sink; they seem to be all plastic. nothing like what i grew up with as a kid in the 70's and 80's haha. But I have maybe good news? in the bathroom, instead of a dry sink, there is a very very very very very slow but constant drip coming out of the tap. the kitchen sink is still dry though. Is this a good sign? :/

I'd not know what the main water valve thing looks like at all. And that's scary.

Guess I'm a typical girl. I can't even change a tire :C

Hi!

If you can access your pipes, electrical tape would be the best.
If you can get it! I don't know what it costs though!
Wrap it around a length of frozen pipe & plug it in.
That's assuming you have an outlet nearby!
I don't know if you could use a regular extension cord either?
Have to check the electrical tape instructions, might need a heavy duty cord???

The hair dryer is worth a shot.
Again, only if you can reach the pipes!
We have never had our pipes freeze...knock on wood!
But we did have our toilet drain freeze up for a few days once!!!
Even flushing hot water down didn't help!
Luckily we have another bathroom on a separate drain!

If your pipes are on an outside wall & inside a cabinet,
leave the doors open to get a little more heat in there.

If you have snow, you can put some in a pot on the stove to melt it.
Fill a bucket up after it cools down, & use it to flush the toilet.
You don't want to put boiling water in a cool toilet bowl!
It will crack...long story!


Here's something I found that looks interesting for more heat.

www.whydontyoutrythis.com...

It's so cold here, even with our wood burner,
that I was going to try this. Can't find my clay pots though!!!

I don't know if I'd put a paper magazine under it though!
Maybe a heatproof trivet or something.
I'd be careful with it, if you have any young kids or pets too!
Good luck with whatever you try. I hope it works!
WOQ

Just thought of something!
Do you have energy assistance where you live?
You might qualify for money to cover your deposit!
That will probably not be fast though.
But I think there is a crisis fund too for people with heating issues,
if you qualify. Call tomorrow & ask some questions.
Having no central heat is a crisis for sure!!!
Good luck!

reply to post by wasobservingquietly


Yup, our toilet has been out of commission all stinkin' day. I have IBS and have been just in agony waiting for the toilet to work again haha. Probably not smart but no way am I going to want any kind of mess later to put it lightly.

I'll try the snow thing. Alas I'm not a hair drier kind of person. I use a laundromat so no drier vent thing to work with. I'm a poor folk of the highest regard - but after this mess straightens out and once I get extra money, I know what I'm going to be buying for the 'just in case' things.

electrical tape
extention cords
hair drier


plenty of towels just in case

Propane torch.
Carful not to heat the joints in the piping.

Then get a forced air propane or kerosene heater. Crack a few windows, and do not, I repeat, DO NOT GO TO SLEEP WITH GAS FIRED SPACE HEATERS RUNNING.

you can rent one at your local hardware store. You should only need it for another day or so.

If you don't know how to fix a busted water line, you may want to get some heat ASAP. $$$$$$$$$$$$

reply to post by sarra1833


The drip is a good sign! Keep it dripping if you can.... And there's always duct tape for a leak until you get a pipe fixed. I've done that before...it's a cheap temp fix....it won't last, but a quick fix. Keep your sink doors open to allow more heat to pipes. If your nervous about a leaky pipe, you can put a pan under them now, just in case.
It sounds to me like you may be good in the house, but maybe not under the house? ...I don't know...I wasn't brought up to be a handy woman either...so I feel your pain.... I've learned the hard way with pipes and cold...and it's not fun . Good luck, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Just added this to my other post!

"Just thought of something!
Do you have energy assistance where you live?
You might qualify for money to cover your deposit!
That will probably not be fast though.
But I think there is a crisis fund too for people with heating issues,
if you qualify. Call tomorrow & ask some questions.
Having no central heat is a crisis for sure!!!
Good luck!"

Thought of something else.
What kind of hot water tank do you have?
If it's electric, let the hot water drip in the sinks instead of the cold.
Depending on where the pipes are frozen,
that might help move the water as the level in the water tank refills?
If it's gas, that won't help any more than letting the cold water drip!

would this help?