I’ve been told to run the faucet furthest from the water meter at a slow trickle at night to prevent the pipes in our two story home from freezing (it’s about 5 degrees F where I am). Why do they recommend doing this at night only and not during the day—for example, when you’re away at work? If the temperature is below freezing both periods what is the difference? Wouldn’t you want to do this day and night?
In: Physics
We let the sink faucet drip every night in 2 bathrooms, pretty much from November through March. A very slow flow, just a drop every few seconds is sufficient here. If a really cold night is forecast we turn it so it drips a little faster. We turn it off completely during the day. They should manufacture faucets with a “drip setting” to make this easier, but they don’t as far as I know. Because the drip may be audible, we put a small washcloth under it to get rid of the sound. If you drip the sinks for many months, you could get a buildup of hard water minerals on the sink, so clean it periodically. We have never had a pipe burst in the 9 years I’ve owned the house. We also set the thermostat so that the interior of the house never gets below 47 degrees even if we’re not here. For pipes in locations that are at higher risk for freezing, you can get insulation foam tubes that simply slip around the pipe. There is also insulating tape you can wrap around pipes, and even electric heating cables designed to be put around pipes, which help to keep the pipes from freezing, for a small amount of electricity. We have never had to use any of those, though; the sink dripping and minimum temperature is enough.
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