Running water at night when temperatures are below freezing

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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

22 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It is not necessary to run the water constantly, just frequently. The underlying assumption is that normal usage during the day will run the water enough, but at night there is basically no activity AND it gets colder, so it becomes necessary to leave a little bit of flow to prevent water freezing in the pipes.

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