The Pony awoke on Christmas Eve eve to discover that his water had frozen! Not the water in the kitchen or the second bedroom's bathroom, where Farmer H thought there might be a problem, and advised him to run the clothes dryer that vents under the house. It was his toilet in the master bathroom!
The shower was still fine, and the sink. So Farmer H didn't know if it was in the jetted bathtub, or the toilet line. He went over with a portable heater and stayed a few hours. Didn't get it thawed while The Pony was at work. But once home, The Pony said the bath was working.
"The only thing is, the toilet won't fill. I moved the heater over to the next accessible part of the pipe, where it goes up into the toilet. If that doesn't thaw it, worst case is it fixes itself next week when the temps go above freezing, and I just poop in the hall toilet."
So practical, our little Pony.
When The Pony ran a hot bath for soaking, after delivering mail in the frigid wasteland, he sent me a text:
"Toilet thawed halfway through the bath with an audible KCHUNK."
Farmer H says he will wrap the pipe in heat tape, and put louvered doors on the panels surrounding the jetted tub. To be fair, the rest of the house he was worried about had no problem. Just this northwest corner, with the below-zero temps and the northwest wind buffeting it at 35 mph. It's not our usual winter.
Anyhoo... The Pony is back to pooping in his toilet of choice... such a Christmas miracle for him!
6 comments:
I've never been happier to know that someone I don't even know has TWO toilets!
Here in Adelaide, we turn on our cold water taps and get water warm enough to bathe a baby in.
River,
Actually, The Pony has THREE toilets! The master, the hall, and in that second bedroom with just a shower and sink.
Heh, heh! Here in the Mansion, I turn on the hot water tap at the kitchen sink, and get water cold enough to preserve a drowning victim until rescue teams arrive! It's not that bad in the bathroom sinks, but I don't know why.
Like the Pony I prefer my own toilet for pooping purposes, but both toilets are his, after all is said and done. We left our faucet dripping in the bathroom sink and it covered the tub and shower, too. But The pipes to the washer froze and I couldn't wash clothes. Kitchen had only hot water. Strange since everything is within 6 feet of the bathroom!
Kathy,
Farmer H could not fathom why THIS was the pipe that froze. He was sure this area was freeze-proof, and had been worrying about the older part of the house, where he did not re-plumb everything.
I guess maybe it was the northwest wind that got The Pony's toilet. I wonder if your problem areas were more windward.
My underneath is closed in and those pipes are in the same area, so I guess we will be leaving the faucet drip in the kitchen, but the washer can't drip!!
Kathy,
I don't have a suggestion for that. Maybe sometime I will ask Farmer H.
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