Pipe Down
Sharktank’s plumbing problems are contagious. Fortunately, it’s the inorganic plumbing that’s the problem.
Yesterday evening, Housemate and I came home from the gym to discover that our pipes had frozen…during the day. We had cold running water in the kitchen, and that was it. Housemate bundled up and went into the crawlspace. Fortunately, the problem didn’t seem to be there…which left us both puzzled. After consulting a couple of reliable sources, both print and human, he went out to the garage with a hair dryer to work on the short length of exposed pipe there.
Just as an aside, I don’t recall ever having used my current hair dryer on my hair, but it’s been great for craft projects, shrink-wrapping windows, and unfreezing the pipes.
In the mean time, Housemate sent me out for a flame spreader for his propane torch and some heating tape. Now, I know you’re not supposed to use a blowtorch on frozen plumbing because of thermal shock, but it seems that propane torches are less risky, particularly with the right attachment…which my hardware store of choice did not have.
By this time, it was nearly eight o’clock at night, so I got the heating tape and headed back home…to discover that Housemate had unfrozen the pipes. We had hot and cold running water everywhere!
I swear, if he gets any more useful, I’m going to have to pay him to stay…and I’m not sure I can afford it.
Powered by FireStats