My husband and I moved into this house a year and a half ago. Last January, during the middle of the cold snap that took down Central VA, we discovered that some of the piping on our property is prone to freezing, including the pipes that serve our washing machine. They are on an exterior "wall," a term I use loosely as they're not actually installed inside the walls, but rather under our deck, which is obviously open to the air.
Last year to remedy the situation we covered as much of the pipe as we could with foam insulation, followed by wrapping everything again with pink fluff-style insulation. We also proactively did a lot more laundry to keep water flowing, including in the middle of the night. We theorized that this year would be easier since the pipes would already be wrapped, therefore preventing the freeze from occurring (rather than reacting reactively last year).
Well, temps this week have dropped and a giant snow storm is on its way this weekend. We have done laundry successfully up to today, when I filled the machine but got no water upon starting it. I plugged a space heater in outside as close to the pipes as I could get; luckily, within 15 minutes I had water flowing, although I could practically hear the slushy ice chunks entering my washing machine as it finally drew water in.
To make it more complicated, there's a right angle involved that I fear will burst if under enough pressure from ice.
My husband's last resort remedy is to buy heat tape tonight and jimmy-rig a setup where we just plug it in as needed (when we expect low temps.). Does anyone have other suggestions or advice?
Pipes are behind the bricks. Cinder block indicates where our actual crawl space begins.
Last year to remedy the situation we covered as much of the pipe as we could with foam insulation, followed by wrapping everything again with pink fluff-style insulation. We also proactively did a lot more laundry to keep water flowing, including in the middle of the night. We theorized that this year would be easier since the pipes would already be wrapped, therefore preventing the freeze from occurring (rather than reacting reactively last year).
Well, temps this week have dropped and a giant snow storm is on its way this weekend. We have done laundry successfully up to today, when I filled the machine but got no water upon starting it. I plugged a space heater in outside as close to the pipes as I could get; luckily, within 15 minutes I had water flowing, although I could practically hear the slushy ice chunks entering my washing machine as it finally drew water in.
To make it more complicated, there's a right angle involved that I fear will burst if under enough pressure from ice.
My husband's last resort remedy is to buy heat tape tonight and jimmy-rig a setup where we just plug it in as needed (when we expect low temps.). Does anyone have other suggestions or advice?
Pipes are behind the bricks. Cinder block indicates where our actual crawl space begins.
