Cold weather reminders: water will freeze when left outside and the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit

Submitted by pig_penis t3_10qit13 in Maine

Couple of things - water is going to freeze guys. Make sure to introduce yourself to any neighbors you have that are visibly pretty old because they have a higher chance of dying.

Get a big roll of plastic from Home Depot and tape it up to the side of your house that is the most drafty. Doing windows individually takes too long. If you have a front wheel drive car go to your local town roads lot and fill up a couple buckets of sand to throw in the back.

Your house doesn’t have to be 70 degrees, that’s why they make sweaters and jackets. For people specifically here, memorize your landlord or apartment owners number so you can call when it starts getting cold and tell them you read here that pipes could freeze and it’s something you’re worried about.

If you’re going somewhere over 25 minutes away don’t wear your outer jacket in the car because it will be fucking hot, or the temperature to low to mimic the conditions needed for your jacket.

People moved here from Somalia 20 years ago and got by without reading dumb shit on Reddit, you probably don’t need any fucking help to sit in your 750,000 house, look out your window and call all of your friends from back home to tell them about how cold it is while really just trying to impress them with how tough/ living simply you’ve become. If you see a dude outside in suspenders, a bean chamois shirt and a vest it’s probably my dad subtly telling you to stop being such a goddamn pussy about everything.

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j6qa7ad wrote

OK.... No lie... This section had me worried where this was leading.

""""introduce yourself to any neighbors you have that are visibly pretty old because they have a higher chance of dying. Get a big roll of plastic from Home Depot""""

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badhmorrigan t1_j6r1085 wrote

Are you sure water will freeze? Should I bring all the water in my house?

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[deleted] t1_j6rjpjf wrote

If you’re cold, it’s cold. Bring it inside.

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StarWarder t1_j6sa2ys wrote

Okay I flooded my basement! now what?

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mamunipsaq t1_j6sdqdx wrote

Turn off the heat and you'll have a basement hockey rink in no time

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[deleted] t1_j6sgfga wrote

Heat rises. You should move the water upstairs where it’s warmer and you can make sure it doesn’t get in any trouble. Especially if you keep things like cleaning agents and old paint cans in your basement.

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snowman603 t1_j6xz3in wrote

Do you think it’s time to unhook my garden hose and close off the spigot?

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cannonball12345 t1_j6qyb2c wrote

I can’t wait to read your solid advice this July when there’s a heatwave.

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fastIamnot t1_j6s4gi6 wrote

That's when you bring all your water outside.

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Laeek t1_j6rdp34 wrote

Do not, my friends, become addicted to heat. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence!

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Majestic-Feedback541 t1_j6qfvmb wrote

Good God, how many posts do we need about the cold? Why is everyone's so paranoid, like we've never experienced negative temps before.

It is winter, cold temps are expected, negatives are not out of the question.

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dr0wningggg t1_j6qm5i3 wrote

this is my first winter living away from my parents (i’m 19) and all this shit has me paranoid. i’ve lived here my whole life but now that i’m somewhat responsible for my housing i’m stressed out lmaoo

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PGids t1_j6rft4x wrote

Keep your heat turned on and crack your faucets, you’ll be aiight

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curtludwig t1_j6s1nd6 wrote

The vast majority of people won't even need to do that. Growing up in Falmouth we never had the water freeze. Not once.

If you were in the County it'd be different. I guess that if you were Bangor or south, particularly along the coast you'd never need to worry about it.

Windchill doesn't make your pipes freeze, absolute temperature does.

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eljefino t1_j6u224d wrote

Yeah cracking faucets is something to do somewhere like Texas where the houses are on slabs with the pipes outside the walls and not engineered for the occasional winter blast.

If you specifically have that one bitchy faucet that needs running, by all means, go for it, but doing it in a traditional Maine house that used to see winters like this all the time is actually inviting trouble. Like what if your septic line freezes but your well doesn't? It could happen.

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curtludwig t1_j6u5q6j wrote

The septic pipes won't freeze for the same reason the well pipes don't freeze they're below the frost line, or should be anyway.

A traditional Maine home will often have frozen pipes, especially in the north. I say that because those houses were built "Good enough" for most of the time, when real cold sets in they're not good enough because there really isn't enough insulation.

Any house built in the last 30 years ought to have no problem with -20F. My parent's house was built in the early '70s and I don't remember one incident of freezing pipes ever...

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ecco-domenica t1_j6t1ja7 wrote

On the contrary, in York County houses down here tend to be not built for cold so a lot of places' pipes freeze every time there's a cold snap. I grew up in Caribou and our pipes never froze. I find people are less used to it down here and many have no idea what to do about it.

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curtludwig t1_j6t9ny5 wrote

>York County houses down here tend to be built poorly

FTFY

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heavymetaltshirt t1_j6rklkt wrote

Hey I’m not sure how familiar you are with human social interaction, but if you’re struggling please remember that people like to talk about things that are currently happening, like: the weather. And also how much they hate people talking about the weather. Hope this helps!

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raynedanser t1_j6riiz5 wrote

You could just SCROLL you know. No one forced you to click.

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Majestic-Feedback541 t1_j6rjsnh wrote

I do know that But peeps could also scroll and see a similar post and add comment there instead of needing the attention so bad they make their own post

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raynedanser t1_j6rlkhu wrote

Or scroll. I don't know about you, but I don't have infinite time to go back through and scroll to see if such and such has been discussed already or not. And even still, so what if it has? Each conversation has been fun and something different has come up each time. Chill my dude.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6s66ht wrote

You need to chill, man. May I suggest a long walk in shorts and flipflops?

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j6qoq4u wrote

For all the OOSers who have yet to experience the true power of Maine cold but live here or are visiting here.

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zeiandren t1_j6rlakk wrote

Negative 40 wind chill is pretty out of the range of normal Maine cold

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Majestic-Feedback541 t1_j6rlp1i wrote

Depends on location. And it's not like it's expected long-term, it's just a day or two (last time I looked, it was over the weekend)

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mymaineaccount46 t1_j6s9tvv wrote

Yeah it's really just Friday night. Saturday is cold but not crazy so.

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curtludwig t1_j6s1bhp wrote

Not really. If it was -20F you'd only need a 10mph breeze.

The lowest recorded temp at my house in Caribou the last 2 years has been -30F. At that temp a 5mph breeze gives -46F windchill...

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6s6p3x wrote

>Negative 40 wind chill is pretty out of the range of normal Maine cold

Not really. Spent many a winter morning outside waiting for the school bus. And then ran the town streets after school for practice. Lemme tell ya about the time coach sent us out to do Ohio Hills when the temp was sub-zero and the wind was blowing...

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[deleted] t1_j6qc5fo wrote

“If anyone looks tougher than you theyre probably my dad”

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pig_penis OP t1_j6qe1l2 wrote

Your username is the envisioned subtext of 90% of the posts in this sub haha.

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Mist_deBall t1_j6rs3jk wrote

Wool is overrated. I cover myself with vaseline when I'm going to be chilling at home for the weekend. Nice and toasty, with thermostat down to 45.

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tenfootturd t1_j6ryqno wrote

I turned my heat up to 80 and all my faucets are wide open I'm ready.

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GoldenLeftovers t1_j6spjoq wrote

I just lit my house on fire, now I'm nice and toasty warm.

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ghstber t1_j6u64im wrote

I think you mean you'll be toasty for the rest of your life!

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tenfootturd t1_j6sxkss wrote

Smart. That's some real out of the box thinking. I'm going to put you in for a raise.

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Glass-Living-118 t1_j6r4dei wrote

You can always use some of the leftover motor oil you fertilized your lawn with or like this guy you can just fuel your home with ice cold rage.

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logcabinfarmgirl t1_j6s6n8m wrote

Guess we found the transplant that priced out a nice local family. You offended, bud? Judging by your profile I bet you have some extra insulation and it's not in your house, but you might want to work on your sense of humor if you want to thrive not just survive.

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Glass-Living-118 t1_j6sv6kw wrote

Not offended. Just trolling the trolls. One sympathizes? (It was also a Fight Club reference for those who don’t get sarcasm (or references)). Why are you a third generation Mainer? If not, you’re not a true Mainer, or so I’ve been told. In any case you’re defending some bloke who likes to call people “pussy”

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ecco-domenica t1_j6rf4xh wrote

Get a big roll of plastic from Home Depot and tape it up to the side of your house that is the most drafty.

Do they still do this in the County? Because they definitely used to.

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curtludwig t1_j6s0z2z wrote

The farmhouse we bought a couple years ago has some kind of roll styrofoam stuff stapled over a bunch of the windows. Looks super classy.

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lifeissisyphean t1_j6spjs3 wrote

In the county????? I can think of three houses that have done this in my town, barely north of Augusta

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ecco-domenica t1_j6sy8ui wrote

I'm in southern York County now and it's not something you see down here. At least I haven't. I'm in town though and don't get out in the puckerbrush too much any more.

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AssumptionLivid6879 t1_j6rvvq0 wrote

I have a water bottle in a detached garage, will the poor people steal it if it freezes so they can make banana smoothies?

Asking for one of my 463 tenants

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eljefino t1_j6u1isi wrote

You don't need water for avocado toast, which is what they're eating, while complaining about your $15 annual incremental rent increase.

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Hefty_Musician2402 t1_j6s18p4 wrote

I know this was tongue-in-cheek, but just in case anyone isn’t mechanically inclined, sand in the back of a fwd car will transfer weight OFF of the drive wheels…Like I said, I know the post was a joke BUT just in case, thought I’d throw in a comment

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CantThinkOfAName000 t1_j6saw66 wrote

See, the trick is to put so much in that the front wheels lift off the ground, and then you can't go anywhere. Can't put your car in the ditch if it's physically incapable of moving.

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eljefino t1_j6u2h7y wrote

Back when we drove Tercels with 13" tires a little sand in the hatchback helped the little bugger dig down through the snow to solid pavement. Don't knock it until you try it.

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JestireTWO t1_j6s8xrf wrote

While all you fools pay for heating, I’m simply a genius, I discovered if I attach a hose from my exhaust to my house, and turn my engine on, my house is immediatly filled with a warm draft that feels great, feels so good it almost makes me lightheaded!!!

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ecco-domenica t1_j6t0lel wrote

"introduce yourself to any neighbors you have that are visibly pretty old because they have a higher chance of dying."

As a visibly pretty old neighbor, this cracks me up.

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Guygan t1_j6rabp4 wrote

> you probably don’t need any fucking help to sit in your 750,000 house, look out your window and call all of your friends from back home to tell them about how cold it is

I feel personally attacked

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Alternative_Sort_404 t1_j6v3p2l wrote

Should someone call the Waambulance for you? Nah- you’ll be fine gloating in comfort, I’m sure…

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mymaineaccount46 t1_j6s9jxf wrote

> you probably don’t need any fucking help to sit in your 750,000 house

What do I do if I don't have one of these? Do I need help then?

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RAP1958 t1_j6raz0j wrote

Also, remember your furry friends. This cold can be deadly for pets too.

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Antnee83 t1_j6rr2cm wrote

Honestly I don't worry all that much about pipes because I have a house that I actively live in.

...but for people living in trailers, who may not have been here long, even if it's just overnight the temps we're gonna get on friday night does warrant some extra attention.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6s7a0e wrote

I hope tent city gets moved indoors. 10 below is not camping weather no matter how propane heaters someone has going in that tent.

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SeawolfGaming t1_j6slodx wrote

In Stonington one of the houses got absolutely fucked after the new Summer Folks who bought the house didn't know to turn off the water after they left for the winter. It ended up bursting the lines due to freezing, flooding the house and then also freezing the flooded house causing a very substantial amount of damage. This was a few years ago, but still water does freeze and cause damage.

Edit: I forgot to add that the damage caused means the entire house either needs to be completely rebuilt or extensively worked on.

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[deleted] t1_j6tty5t wrote

Ok this is my favorite r/Maine post. Immaculate

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6s5pdz wrote

One good thing about really cold weather: the outdoor fridge is open for business.

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mymaineaccount46 t1_j6sb3d8 wrote

Just in time for dry January to end too. Throw your beer out there and race against the clock.

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Sixfeatsmall05 t1_j6t1eok wrote

Great post, part about Somalia should be the mandatory reply to anyone whining about anything on r/Maine.

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rizub_n_tizug t1_j6usflo wrote

After this goldmine of a post, I just noticed your username. Bravo

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j6sag4k wrote

What's a "sweater"? What's a "jacket"? Goddamn kids these days have the weirdest terminology for shit...back in my day we used the fat on our bodies!

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Imnotapoolman t1_j6t2atp wrote

I better start collecting water to bring it inside!!

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vgallant t1_j6t3b80 wrote

I knew something was up when I got to the FWD car with buckets of sand in the back. LMFAO!

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sirgoofs t1_j6udxcp wrote

“Hello, you look visibly old and like you are in danger of dying pretty easily…. Good day.”

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bern_trees t1_j6veiqr wrote

I’m sure you’re wicked fun at parties.

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indyaj t1_j6xganb wrote

No. Way. Who knew?

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Goodunnn t1_j6rtsl7 wrote

What’s with the hate on passing on helpful information? Not everyone is Ron Swanson. The internet is literally how we share information now, some of that information you may already know (like this), but I’m guessing not much of it.

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Guygan t1_j6rv9f0 wrote

It’s called humor.

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Alternative_Sort_404 t1_j6v495e wrote

And it’s because everyone seems to be freaking out about a cold snap that is going to last 48 hours… It’s been much colder for much longer in the past- we’ve had a pretty mild winter so far. Stay cool, peeps - it’s not the end of the world.

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ThrillHouseofMirth t1_j6xpm6x wrote

You are pitching a fit about literally nothing, it’s pathetic

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GuavaGood5835 t1_j6rwp43 wrote

You guys remember before all the out of staters moved here, and we didn't constantly hear stupid questions. God, i wish they'd just go back...

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6s74no wrote

Before it was the OOS'ers, it was those swarthy folks from Quebec... and before them, those rumbly toothed fellers from across the pond...

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mmmmpork t1_j6sq5xe wrote

The real pro tip is that any of your new out of state neighbors are quite a bit fattier and likely organically fed, so if it does indeed get as cold as they are saying, the best way to stay warm is slaughter 4 or 5 of them. Once broken down into primal cuts, slather them in a mixture of Allens and crushed blueberries, put them in the oven at 300F for 35 minutes per pound. Perfect doneness is medium rare-medium. Don't forget to look around their empty home for cash and jewelry you can use to pay your heating bill! Bon Appetite & stay warm out there!

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