Learn me... preparing the house for extreme cold

We're going to get cold weather here in the next couple days. -25*, with windchills of -50*. For those of us that use something other than Freedom units, that is -31* and -45* C. Normally I wouldn't sweat this--stay inside, monitor everything, etc. But unfortunately (ha!) I'm flying to Florida tonight and won't be back until Friday. My wife will be home with Milo the dog. 

So with that in mind, are there any steps that I should take ahead of this? I'm thinking that I should 

• Bump the heat up from its normal 66 to 70
• Change the furnace filter
• Open the cabinet doors to the sink in the kitchen and bathrooms

Is there anything else I need to be doing before I leave? 

Provide wife with ample alcohol of her choosing.

If you cover your windows check the seals.

If your water lines are like mine, in an uninsulated exterior wall, let them drip overnight.

Pipes freeze is probably your greatest concern.  The cabinet doors open under the sink to allow heat to get in is a good idea.  Some insulation, even if just cardboard between the outside wall and the pipes could be good to (if you're setup is that way.)  

A light trickle/drip of water out the tap can is another trick to keep the flow and not let it stop and freeze.  

This same cold spell is on my mind for the next two days also (though I'll be home.)  

The goofy forcast here is actual high temps of -3F then +3F

Just days later it will be in the 40's which is unseasonably warm and stay that way for 4 days. 

For pipes freezing the wind chill doesn't matter all that much.  They aren't human flesh. It's the actual temps that are your main concern.


However, if you have had, or even think you might have issues with freezing pipes, run the water just a trickle. Almost all of the plumbing in my split level is well protected in inside walls or a crawlspace that doesn't get below freezing, but I will likely leave the kitchen tap on at a trickle anyway, as I am not sure about a short length of that one.

My parents' house, however, needs to run the tap any time the temp gets below 10° F, due the poor insulation of a cinder block wall.

Cooter said:

For pipes freezing the wind chill doesn't matter all that much.  They aren't human flesh. It's the actual temps that are your main concern.
 

Since the HIGH here is predicted to be -4 degrees F tomorrow many people should be concerned.  I'm not sure I should even try to start my car.  It's going to be sofa king cold... 

Well, I went and felt all the windows and walls in my house. None of them felt that cold, all were "cool", but certainly nothing crazy. Currently 3* in the sun. I also went to the basement and felt those walls, since the portion of them that are above grade would be the worst off. Again, nothing too crazy. I did open up all of the vents in the basemnt just to be sure. 

We'll see. Hopefully I'm not calling State Farm in a few days. 

A word of caution on letting a faucet drip.  That does keep the supply line from freezing but it can cause ice buildup in the waste line that will eventually block the pipe.  What's best depends entirely on where the pipes run.

(not) WilD (Matt) said:

Cooter said:

For pipes freezing the wind chill doesn't matter all that much.  They aren't human flesh. It's the actual temps that are your main concern.
 

Since the HIGH here is predicted to be -4 degrees F tomorrow many people should be concerned.  I'm not sure I should even try to start my car.  It's going to be sofa king cold... 

Not sure what your point is.  I simply stated that the OP should base concerns about the house (the title of the thread, BTW) on actual temperatures, as wind chill is based on a combination of wind and temperature on human flesh.  

People start their cars all the time in below zero temperatures.    This isn't a new or unheard of occurrence.  

In reply to APEowner :

Most drains lead straight down heading under the ground fairly quickly, so they aren't very likely to freeze, unless the ambient temp in your area under your sink is below 32° F (in which case your P-trap would freeze anyway, as it is normally filled with water to form a seal to keep sewer gases from entering your home.)

    There aren't large runs of water sitting in one place when you run the tap, and, since the water is moving, in both the supply plumbing, and the return, it will stay warmer, thus making the drain less likely to freeze.  The drain is also many sizes larger than your supply plumbing.

In the unlikely event of a drain backing up do to freezing, it is still far preferable to your pressurized water supply pipes bursting, due to amount of damage, and cost and difficultly to fix.

yeah, im not sure what all the fuss is about. -4 is cold, but not unheard of many days of the year in much of the country. -25 is really cold, but also not all that uncommon during winter in our continent. 

Yes, protect yourself and your house. Don't be dumb, and good to think ahead. But the world is not ending. 

https://www.currentresults.com/Yearly-Weather/USA/IL/Chicago/extreme-annual-chicago-low-temperature.php

https://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/coldest-cities.php

p.s. looks like living in MSP, Denver, Chicago, or Milwaukee is turning out to be a good hedge against global warming 

Where does your garden hose meet the house?  Is there a shut off valve on the inside of the house (like in the basement) to shut off the flow to the garden hose?  

Turn these off and drain the water out of the rest of the pipe by briefly turning on the outside spicket. 

In reply to Cooter :

This assumes that the other parts of your drain plumbing are also functioning. For example, I had a freak-out last winter when our power went out for about 9 hours. No power = no furnace fan. I thought "no big deal I'll just run the faucets a bit", then I thought "oh crap, they drain into our sewage-ejector pit which also needs power to run the pump to eject the sewage". Since it's not a big pit, I may not be able to run much water before flooding my own basement. 

I agree though the supply is usually a much bigger issue than the drain.

Move to DC, we have enough hot air to keep you toasty... 

In all seriousness, be careful guys. Car may need a booster pack and several minutes warming up before driving.

In reply to Robbie :

I would much prefer either taking a bucket and bailing out my sump pit or running a small battery powered bilge pump to a hose out a window to burst pipes in my walls, and all of the inherent damage that comes with it.

And as a fellow Chicagoan, I really don't see what the huge fuss is, either.

In reply to Cooter :

Yeah, I agree. and I was mentally preparing for that. But it would've sucked.

That was the day that prompted me to get off my behind and install an automatic backup generator. Which was actually a pretty fun project. 

"All the fuss" here is that it is the coldest it has been in my life, and the only thing that even comes close was about 1994. When I was 4. (This is for -25. Not -4. I play hockey in -4)

Normally I wouldn't even think twice, but it would not be a good look for me to have (a) not prepared the house for it, and (b) be in Florida while my wife is here. Milo the wonderdog is wonderful, but not very good at keeping a house. 

Cooter said:

Not sure what your point is.

My only point is that it is too cold and I want to fly south for the winter.

My furnace died when it was 25F and the coldest it got in the house after a week (waiting for parts) was 48, so as long as the furnace works I wouldn't worry a bit about it.  Pipes can take a little freezing... like they would have to get down to 25-30 before they burst (of course it depends on the type of pipe... cast iron or copper won't take as much as Pex)

When I go away, I set the thermostat to 58 and put a space heater in the basement set to 52 (the lowest it will go) in case the furnace dies.  I don't have any in-wall plumbing, it all comes up from the basement or crawl space.  The only one I worry about is the bathroom because the toilet is on an outside wall that is about 15' out through a crawl space.  This is also in a house built in the 20s, so insulation is minimal.  I don't stress about it.

I might suggest some kind of big brother monitoring; maybe a Wyze cam or Nest thermostat that can alert you if things drop below 45 at which point you could call a neighbor or friend to go supplement some heat.  You could also put heat tape  on pipes where they are exposed.  Water conducts heat very well so you don't need full coverage.  Leaving a few feet un-taped where it disappears into a wall wouldn't be an issue.

mtn said:

"All the fuss" here is that it is the coldest it has been in my life, and the only thing that even comes close was about 1994. When I was 4. (This is for -25. Not -4. I play hockey in -4)

I remember that day. My car (93 SHO) was the only one in the family that would start that morning. Newest battery, I suppose, and it was the only one with synthetic oil. A lot of people didn't make it to work that day. I remember hearing that tree branches were breaking off in the UP because it was so cold they got brittle and just snapped.

But yeah, this is looking similar. Last night the weatherman on Detroit's ABC affiliate said it's the coldest temp he's seen forecasted in his whole career, which is about 20 years.

If you have exposed / uninsulated water pipe that is accessible, you might think about installing some heat tape.  If you have exposed drain pipes, they are at risk of plugging up with ice as well.

Might want to install some foam hose bib covers also.

Tom_Spangler said:

mtn said:

"All the fuss" here is that it is the coldest it has been in my life, and the only thing that even comes close was about 1994. When I was 4. (This is for -25. Not -4. I play hockey in -4)

I remember that day. My car (93 SHO) was the only one in the family that would start that morning. Newest battery, I suppose, and it was the only one with synthetic oil. A lot of people didn't make it to work that day. I remember hearing that tree branches were breaking off in the UP because it was so cold they got brittle and just snapped.

But yeah, this is looking similar. Last night the weatherman on Detroit's ABC affiliate said it's the coldest temp he's seen forecasted in his whole career, which is about 20 years.

My parents have a tree on their property in the UP (although, it is as far south as you can go and still be in the UP) that "exploded" because of the cold. We heard it, like a gun shot, and came out the next morning and it looked like one of the branches had been hit by lightning--except there were no burns. I'd never seen that much sap everywere.

Cooter said:

In reply to APEowner :

Most drains lead straight down heading under the ground fairly quickly, so they aren't very likely to freeze, unless the ambient temp in your area under your sink is below 32° F (in which case your P-trap would freeze anyway, as it is normally filled with water to form a seal to keep sewer gases from entering your home.)

    There aren't large runs of water sitting in one place when you run the tap, and, since the water is moving, in both the supply plumbing, and the return, it will stay warmer, thus making the drain less likely to freeze.  The drain is also many sizes larger than your supply plumbing.

In the unlikely event of a drain backing up do to freezing, it is still far preferable to your pressurized water supply pipes bursting, due to amount of damage, and cost and difficultly to fix.

Yep. 

We learned last winter when it drops below about 22-23 degrees, the drain line for our washing machine will freeze. Sits on an outside, north facing wall. 

Thankfully we heard the ruckus immediately and it didn't get too much water all over the floor. Pulled out the washing machine from the wall and put a space heater on it and it was good to go in about an hour.

Come on up to the Great White North.

It was only -1C at night last night where I live.