WARNING!

[IrishAyes]

1/8/2014 WARNING: If you put more than the tiniest bit of de-icing salt in an open ice-jammed exit pipe, you're likely to compound your problems rather than solve them. IT CLUMPS. ONLY USE NON-TOXIC LIQUID ANTI-FREEZE. I'll never forgive myself if my bad advice causes anyone else more problems than they started with.

[Curmudgeoness]

1. Oh no.

It sounds like you now have a real problem. Is there anything you can do now?

[IrishAyes]

2. Yeah - do a couple loads of laundry at my neighbor friend's house. I've become her driver lately;

she has a car but is getting too frail to drive; I don't have a car and need to go. Since there's not many stores in town, an errand run for both of us doesn't take that long. But she still feels more obligated than she should in my view, and she's only too happy to let me do a little laundry in her basement.

After 8 years and lots of improvements, including maximum insulation, I thought I knew this house. Well, I did, but we never had over a week of 15 and 20 below either. It's always been just a few days and then it's over. The gentler methods of hot water or baking soda and vinegar always worked before. Dripping the faucets always worked - in the past. Now I have a stubbornly frozen (not burst, thank God) cold water line to the kitchen faucet and the downstairs half bath. So I'm keeping the little heaters running under there at night too until it's over.

Next time we get caught in a polar vortex, I'll have heat tape already on the pipes but will still drip them. And the washing machine exit pipe trap some fool put under the house where it's sure to freeze will get a few tablespoons of liquid non-toxic antifreeze the first night we have below zero. I just got blindsided by conditions this one time. I also bought a 15' toilet auger today. Eventually that should help me with the ice-melt clog now sitting on top of the ice jam. Considering how things could've gone, I got off easy. I've always been afraid of heat tape causing a fire, but this has been incentive enough to overcome that dread.

..... Sorry if my answers tend toward too much detail. But I felt the urge to add one more thing to this one. It feels SO GOOD to be sitting here after a bath, in 2 pairs of warm flannels under a hooded chennile robe, and heavy wool socks and Ugg-style fur-lined booties. I got a catalog today with a good buy on 100% wool socks, so on the 12th I'm going to order some more. I buy the larger men's sizes to fit over one or two other pair.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Well, it sounds like you have everything under control.

And you have a plan for next time. Hopefully, I don't see another next time.....this was supposed to be a rare event.

I hope that your frozen pipe doesn't burst. They usually do not burst on the freeze, it happens when it thaws. So just watch out for that until it opens up. I had a pipe burst once and it caused over $20,000 in damage. And it was a real mess. There isn't much you can do if it does break when it thaws, but just be ready to shut off your water fast if it does. Hopefully, all will be well.

I have never used heat tape, but I assume that it is safe. After the pipe break, I have insulated all my pipes with that foam that fits on the pipes. So far, so good.

I know all about warm clothes and long underwear and good socks. I don't go out often for a long time when it is cold these days, but I used to buy men's wool hunting socks in a size that will fit over other socks. I have a pair of boots that are too big so that I can wear them with extra socks.....although this was mostly used when I used to do volunteer environmental work outdoors in all weather.

Stay warm!!!

[IrishAyes]

4. Thanks. I'm warm enough, though I don't have the plumbing under control at all.

The one thing I take any comfort in is the fact that they're all pvc pipes, not copper, so they're less likely to burst. My nerves are really shot to hell and back, but I'm definitely not going anywhere until this is over one way or another. Not for more than an hour or two anyway. And I sleep with one eye open. When I'm not bawling. If I survive, however, my perspective on life will be much better. It's like banging your head on a brick wall - feels so good when you stop.

It will be several days before the trap thaws itself, and the cold water faucets in the kitchen and the downstairs half bath are still blocked. 48 hours of heat on them didn't produce anything. This is almost as stressful as having to listen to Faux News at somebody else's house, which happened too often when I did private duty nursing. I always tried to take night shifts because the tv's weren't usually on. That's one reason my nerves have never fully recovered. How people can swallow that poison mystifies me.

Hey, look at that! Time for my xanax! See ya later!