Cold

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

When the temp is so low at night, we are told that we have to let the water drip from a faucet all night long.

QUESTION: Do I let the hot water or the cold water drip? Is there a preference?

Since the purpose of the dripping is to keep the water moving in the pipes, cold water is less expensive to drip than hot. The drip needs to be as minimal as possible.

[CameronBornAndBred]

When the temp is so low at night, we are told that we have to let the water drip from a faucet all night long.

QUESTION: Do I let the hot water or the cold water drip? Is there a preference?

I have a running toilet..it's keeping my pipes from freezing this week. As far as your dripping goes, it doesn't matter, but no sense in making the water heater use up any electricity so let the cold drip.

[Very Duke Blue]

its warm here this morning, about 40f.

[DukieInKansas]

They are predicting a weekend warmup here - it should get into the 20s.

[Lavabe]

Thanks for responses on drip question #1.

Here's the next question about the pipes.

The outside spigots (for watering the lawn, etc...): whoops, we didn't let them drip. What should we do know?

[DukieInKansas]

Thanks for responses on drip question #1.

Here's the next question about the pipes.

The outside spigots (for watering the lawn, etc...): whoops, we didn't let them drip. What should we do know?

I don't know what the official answer is - I never let mine drip. I just make sure the hose is disconnected. Although, you have just reminded me to check that the water is shut off to that outside spigot. (I don't always do that but probably should with the below 0 temps this year.)

[cl15876]

Thanks for responses on drip question #1.

Here's the next question about the pipes.

The outside spigots (for watering the lawn, etc...): whoops, we didn't let them drip. What should we do know?

BTW - i don't let mine drip either.

What I do for my outside spigots is the following:
1. Turn off the main shutoff for the front and back of house spigots which is located in my basement just before the main water shutoff to the entire inside of the house.
2. I then go outside and open up the spigots (with hose disconnected) and then go back downstairs with a bucket and unscrew a little screw on the water regulator where I turned off the spigots which causes the water in the front and back spigot pipes to drain out of this screw hole into my bucket and then put the screw back in. I leave the outside spigots open all winter.
3. That's it and then I don't have to worry about either all winter when freeze threatens.
4. In the spring (or whenever I need to) - I just turn on the front or back water shutoff in the basement back on and then run upstairs and outside to shut the outside spigot off. I know I could shut off the outside spigot first, but I like the exercise and it's a good test to blow out the line with no hose connected to it.

Hope this helps!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Thanks for responses on drip question #1.

Here's the next question about the pipes.

The outside spigots (for watering the lawn, etc...): whoops, we didn't let them drip. What should we do know?

BTW - i don't let mine drip either.

What I do for my outside spigots is the following:
1. Turn off the main shutoff for the front and back of house spigots which is located in my basement just before the main water shutoff to the entire inside of the house.
2. I then go outside and open up the spigots (with hose disconnected) and then go back downstairs with a bucket and unscrew a little screw on the water regulator where I turned off the spigots which causes the water in the front and back spigot pipes to drain out of this screw hole into my bucket and then put the screw back in. I leave the outside spigots open all winter.
3. That's it and then I don't have to worry about either all winter when freeze threatens.
4. In the spring (or whenever I need to) - I just turn on the front or back water shutoff in the basement back on and then run upstairs and outside to shut the outside spigot off. I know I could shut off the outside spigot first, but I like the exercise and it's a good test to blow out the line with no hose connected to it.

Hope this helps!

Good advice! You definitely don't want to have outside spigots dripping since this may create another hazard to contend with. Most hardware stores (or big box home improvement stores) have an assortment of covers for outside faucets once you've done what Bones said about cutting off water to those spigots and clearing the lines. I like the assistance at Ace or TrueValue when seeking such items as the spigot cover. The sales people in the hardware stores are also very knowledgeable about how to do a variety of things.

[TillyGalore]

Thanks for responses on drip question #1.

Here's the next question about the pipes.

The outside spigots (for watering the lawn, etc...): whoops, we didn't let them drip. What should we do know?

BTW - i don't let mine drip either.

What I do for my outside spigots is the following:
1. Turn off the main shutoff for the front and back of house spigots which is located in my basement just before the main water shutoff to the entire inside of the house.
2. I then go outside and open up the spigots (with hose disconnected) and then go back downstairs with a bucket and unscrew a little screw on the water regulator where I turned off the spigots which causes the water in the front and back spigot pipes to drain out of this screw hole into my bucket and then put the screw back in. I leave the outside spigots open all winter.
3. That's it and then I don't have to worry about either all winter when freeze threatens.
4. In the spring (or whenever I need to) - I just turn on the front or back water shutoff in the basement back on and then run upstairs and outside to shut the outside spigot off. I know I could shut off the outside spigot first, but I like the exercise and it's a good test to blow out the line with no hose connected to it.

Hope this helps!

Is there a book available to new home owners that this type of info is in? I had no idea I should shut off the water to the my outside spigots.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

BTW - i don't let mine drip either.

What I do for my outside spigots is the following:
1. Turn off the main shutoff for the front and back of house spigots which is located in my basement just before the main water shutoff to the entire inside of the house.
2. I then go outside and open up the spigots (with hose disconnected) and then go back downstairs with a bucket and unscrew a little screw on the water regulator where I turned off the spigots which causes the water in the front and back spigot pipes to drain out of this screw hole into my bucket and then put the screw back in. I leave the outside spigots open all winter.
3. That's it and then I don't have to worry about either all winter when freeze threatens.
4. In the spring (or whenever I need to) - I just turn on the front or back water shutoff in the basement back on and then run upstairs and outside to shut the outside spigot off. I know I could shut off the outside spigot first, but I like the exercise and it's a good test to blow out the line with no hose connected to it.

Hope this helps!

Is there a book available to new home owners that this type of info is in? I had no idea I should shut off the water to the my outside spigots.

Here's one possibility: http://www.amazon.com/Home-Maintenance- ... 258&sr=1-1. A trip to Barnes and Noble might be in order. Over the years I've used a Better Homes and Gardens book on home maintenance..... lots of "how to" with pictures.

Online, this web site might be helpful: http://www.justanswer.com/home-improvem ... D=20091204

Do you have a basic set of tools? Here are some possibilities: http://www.target.com/dp/B000E26OT0/sr= ... men&page=1 or better yet http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_toolkit.asp. I love the products the Flylady offers and can tell you more about my favorites if you like.

[Rolvix]

Brr.
Shameless PW'ing

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Is there a book available to new home owners that this type of info is in? I had no idea I should shut off the water to the my outside spigots.

The book is called your CTN nextwork of experts!

Unless you have an automatic sprinkler system, you don't need to shut the water off to your outside spigots. You do need to disconnect any hoses from them to prevent the spigot from splitting from frozen water being trapped inside it (water expands when it freezes and if it's in a fixed volume, when it wants to get bigger than that volume the force will split a pipe, usually at a joint or on a seam, but not always. That's why you want to keep pipes from freezing - (slowly) flowing water doesn't freeze as easily as stagnant water. Around here, when temps get into the teens is when we have to start worrying about pipes freezing. Make sure your crawl space vents are closed so cold outside air doesn't circulate under the house. The air trapped under the house will be warmed slightly by the house above it. In really frigid (aka "fucking cold") areas, like, say Canada , insulating pipes and going so far as to install electric heating tape to the pipe (under the insulation) may be necessary to prevent freezing. But Durham home owners don't have to do that.

Oh, one more thing. If you leave the cabinet doors under your sinks open it helps heat the pipes that are coming into that faucet and on the ground floor provides more heat to get into the crawl space. Of course, it also allows cold to get into your heated air space, so there is a trade off.

Technical note: Heat flows, cold doesn't. When there is a temperature difference between two spaces, or ends of a pipe, heat is conducted from the hot zone to the cold zone, and not vice versa. Heat can also be radiated. The cold draft (convective flow) you can feel in a room is caused by the heat escaping out the roof/ceiling/windows, not the cold coming in from outside on its own. The convection can then draw cold air in through openings in the floor, windows, doors, etc.

[TillyGalore]

BTW - i don't let mine drip either.

What I do for my outside spigots is the following:
1. Turn off the main shutoff for the front and back of house spigots which is located in my basement just before the main water shutoff to the entire inside of the house.
2. I then go outside and open up the spigots (with hose disconnected) and then go back downstairs with a bucket and unscrew a little screw on the water regulator where I turned off the spigots which causes the water in the front and back spigot pipes to drain out of this screw hole into my bucket and then put the screw back in. I leave the outside spigots open all winter.
3. That's it and then I don't have to worry about either all winter when freeze threatens.
4. In the spring (or whenever I need to) - I just turn on the front or back water shutoff in the basement back on and then run upstairs and outside to shut the outside spigot off. I know I could shut off the outside spigot first, but I like the exercise and it's a good test to blow out the line with no hose connected to it.

Hope this helps!

Is there a book available to new home owners that this type of info is in? I had no idea I should shut off the water to the my outside spigots.

Here's one possibility: http://www.amazon.com/Home-Maintenance- ... 258&sr=1-1. A trip to Barnes and Noble might be in order. Over the years I've used a Better Homes and Gardens book on home maintenance..... lots of "how to" with pictures.

Online, this web site might be helpful: http://www.justanswer.com/home-improvem ... D=20091204

Do you have a basic set of tools? Here are some possibilities: http://www.target.com/dp/B000E26OT0/sr= ... men&page=1 or better yet http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_toolkit.asp. I love the products the Flylady offers and can tell you more about my favorites if you like.

Thank you for the suggestions. I was checking out the Just Answer web site, and actually submitted a question about the dog and cats getting along, more of an issue for me than anything else in the house. Good resource to have.

I do have tools. In fact in 2008, I had the foresight to ask for a power drill before I knew I was going to buy a house. I've loved having tools.

[TillyGalore]

Is there a book available to new home owners that this type of info is in? I had no idea I should shut off the water to the my outside spigots.

The book is called your CTN nextwork of experts!

Unless you have an automatic sprinkler system, you don't need to shut the water off to your outside spigots. You do need to disconnect any hoses from them to prevent the spigot from splitting from frozen water being trapped inside it (water expands when it freezes and if it's in a fixed volume, when it wants to get bigger than that volume the force will split a pipe, usually at a joint or on a seam, but not always. That's why you want to keep pipes from freezing - (slowly) flowing water doesn't freeze as easily as stagnant water. Around here, when temps get into the teens is when we have to start worrying about pipes freezing. Make sure your crawl space vents are closed so cold outside air doesn't circulate under the house. The air trapped under the house will be warmed slightly by the house above it. In really frigid (aka "fucking cold") areas, like, say Canada , insulating pipes and going so far as to install electric heating tape to the pipe (under the insulation) may be necessary to prevent freezing. But Durham home owners don't have to do that.

Oh, one more thing. If you leave the cabinet doors under your sinks open it helps heat the pipes that are coming into that faucet and on the ground floor provides more heat to get into the crawl space. Of course, it also allows cold to get into your heated air space, so there is a trade off.

Technical note: Heat flows, cold doesn't. When there is a temperature difference between two spaces, or ends of a pipe, heat is conducted from the hot zone to the cold zone, and not vice versa. Heat can also be radiated. The cold draft (convective flow) you can feel in a room is caused by the heat escaping out the roof/ceiling/windows, not the cold coming in from outside on its own. The convection can then draw cold air in through openings in the floor, windows, doors, etc.

Thanks for the reminder, Ozzie. I do believe I turned to a certain member of this site when the paint was starting to bubble as I was painting. You didn't fail me then!

K68 is going to remove the hose from the spigot this weekend.

Don't want to leave cabinet doors under my sink open as the cats like to get in there to explore. Really don't want them ingesting something that could be fatal.

Thank you for the suggestions. Will definitely turn to CTN whenever I have other home issues.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

K68 is going to remove the hose from the spigot this weekend.

If you wait for this weekend for him to do it, you might as well call the plumber now. Send him out in the cold TONIGHT to remove at hose. Seriously. No joke.

[TillyGalore]

K68 is going to remove the hose from the spigot this weekend.

If you wait for this weekend for him to do it, you might as well call the plumber now. Send him out in the cold TONIGHT to remove at hose. Seriously. No joke.

I'll ask him to do it tomorrow as he's at his place tonight.

[DukieInKansas]

It is snowing again. The predicted high temperature for tomorrow is 9F.

[colchar]

It is snowing again. The predicted high temperature for tomorrow is 9F.

We're sitting at a positively balmy 12F today.

[devildeac]

It is snowing again. The predicted high temperature for tomorrow is 9F.

QFE

[cl15876]

It is snowing again. The predicted high temperature for tomorrow is 9F.

QFE

QFE to you and another QFE!!!! Was wondering WTH you were?