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Jumbo_Jetta t1_iu5mis0 wrote

Reply to comment by Secure_SeaLab in With winter around the corner here is some advice. When traveling or just not coming home for a few days turn the water main valve off and open a faucet you will never come home to a flooded house. by pipelyfe

If there is no water in the pipes, what feeezes?

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theo2112 t1_iu5ocu4 wrote

You can’t just open a single faucet and be done. You need to open up at least 2, and preferably at different elevations with one being lower than most of your water pipes.

What this commenter is saying (I assume) is that shutting off the supply, and then opening just one faucet, you potentially trap whatever water is “below” that open faucet. Without moving water, those pipes can more easily burst when frozen. It won’t flood while you’re gone, but it can still freeze and then flood when you turn it back on.

What OP is trying to quickly describe is to empty your houses water lines completely before leaving. Then, with empty pipes there’s nothing to freeze. But not every house is the same, and in a somewhat typical 2 story house with a basement, shutting off the supply and then opening a faucet in the 1st or 2nd floor will leave the pipes in the basement (where it is coldest) full of water. It’s possible that the water freezing will expand up the empty pipe, and not “out” to burst them, but that’s not a guarantee.

Also, if you have water lines that feed a garden hose, which are not frost proof, those could very easily freeze and are almost certainly below a first floor faucet.

This is somewhat reckless advice as it’s incomplete.

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crandawg t1_iu5o6da wrote

You need a flow of water to prevent freezing. The trickle part is great, the shutting off the main is terrible.

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toalv t1_iu5rpgs wrote

No, you need a properly insulated and plumbed house (no pipes in exterior walls or unconditioned spaces) to prevent freezing. A trickle of water is advice for warm climates that might occasionally see freezing temperatures, it's a coping mechanism for a poorly designed system.

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