My husband and I are both born and bred Californians, which also means we are wimps when it comes to weather. We like our sun and go into complete hibernation if the temperatures drop below 50.
This week has been MUCH colder than we have ever experienced since we purchased our home. Temperatures were dropping into the 20s (I know all you east coasters are mocking me), and we were issued a freeze warning. Not thinking much of it, we ignored it.
Bad idea.
On Sunday morning I woke up and went to the bathroom and noticed that the toilet flushed weird. And then I tried to wash my hands and realized that there was no water coming out of the faucet.
Say what?
So I go into the kitchen, same thing? I know I paid the bill and then it dawned on me.
Our pipes are frozen.
Cue panic attack.
My darling husband was still warm and snuggled in bed, and I try not to wake him unless it is super important and well this felt like a level ten emergency in my book.
So I wake him up and he of course is calm and starts fixing it all while I am yelling things about calling the emergency water line for the city. He is trying to stay calm and I keep screaming and he thinks I have seen a pipe explode or something.
And then instead of helping I did what any rational wife, lady with a new camera does. I think, “this is one for our 2013 photo book!” and I start taking pictures. I can see hubs looking at me like a crazy lady and just lets me be, because he was probably thinking one of two things:
1. At least she isn’t screaming every time the faucet makes a noise.
2. My wife should be helping, but she is taking pictures of our faucets instead.
Well, hours later our pipes were warm and happy and I went to Lowes and found out this all could have been prevented if we had just put this happy covers over our two faucets on the exterior of our house.
Go figure. Hey, at least it got me out of laundry and dishes duty. Lesson learned.
That is probably exactly what I would have done if our pipes froze. Luckily I live in FL, so it’s unlikely to happen. Thank goodness! Oh, the joys of home ownership…
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Totally! Who knew. When I went to work yesterday and told people, they were like ummm didn’t you know. No I didn’t! I grew up in So. Cal and we live in California. Ugh, the joys of homeownership. I am sure the journey will only get wilder.
Hope you have a great day!
Kate
I think its odd your pipes froze… it been single digits here in Indiana and I haven’t had a problem but I’m guessing your house doesn’t have insulated pipes.
I’m glad it was a quick fix and that no pipes burst… that would have gotten ugly!
Yeah, I don’t think that where we live in CA that is built into the building code. We did leave the spigots outside uncovered and the hose attached, so it makes sense when I put the pieces together.
Yes, I am VERY thankful nothing burst as well. That would have been horrendous. A lot of people in this area were not as lucky. Good think our house is newer or we would have been in trouble. Glad we learned now!
You probably won’t have to deal with this again any time soon, but you can also use duct tape to tape a towel around the spigots as well.
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That is a good idea! Much cheaper of an option too.
Yup, I’m from MA and I’m laughing a wee bit at you
At least it made for a good blog post!
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I knew you east coasters would! Yes it had made a funny story and a new memory.
I’m a condo owner and I swear everything decided to fall apart on me yesterday. I go to open the laundry doors and they literally fell off the tracks and the screws fell out that keeps them together so its now in two pieces. Then the dishwasher started smelling and I had to clean it before letting it do dishes. Knock on wood nothing yet today but its only started!
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Ugh, that is awful!! I hope today everything stays put together.
Ha! I am glad it wasn’t anything worse! A few years ago we had a frozen pipe burst inside the walls of of our house between the 1st & 2nd floor. It was a huge mess. I had to run out to the road and dig through a rare GA snow to find the water meter to turn off the water to the house because at that point I didn’t realize there was a valve inside that would have done that! Live and learn, huh?
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Oh my goodnes, I so would have done the same thing! I don’t even know where our water shut off is … hmm maybe I should check that.
I don’t blame you – I wouldn’t know what to do either! I’m in SC & it can get pretty chilly, but we’ve never had to deal with that!
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Its crazy! I have lived in Nor. Cal for almost 8 years and never had cold like this. I am so jealous you live in SC — that or NC is my dream states to live.
HAHA! I love how much you freaked out. I probably would’ve done the same thing!
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Ugh I was a hot mess. Good things hubs already put a ring on it!
This is prob the reason we drain the water and leave it all open in the winter upnorth so that it’s harder to freeze. I don’t think we’ve ever had this problem
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I don’t even know what that means. See also: I’m from California.
Too funny! When I lived in Florida over 10 years ago we had a weekend where it was supposed to get below freezing. They actually had us turn on the faucets in our rooms so they would run over night. All I could think was if I have to call my family back in the midwest and tell them I got a “cold day” off of school, that they would laugh at me! I had to explain to the janitor that in the midwest we bury our pipes in the ground farther because we have freezing temperatures often enough that we have to do that. He was just shocked.
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That is crazy, I didn’t even know that about the pipes! If we ever move out of California I hope I can make friends that can teach me ways of the world. So sheltered in our sunny states!
That definitely sounds like an adventure! I grew up in MA and I’ll be honest, I had no idea about those faucet covers. Clearly, I still have a lot to learn as well haha
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I feel like these covers are one of those “in the club things” and you only get initiated the hard way. Lol