Would it work to just wrap lots of duct tape around the pipe, for insulation? That might at least delay the freezing. Duct tape can work miracles.
I am not a plumber, but I believe it is the cold water pipes freeze first so insulating those pipes would accelerate freezing because it would not allow warmer air from the interior of the heated home to warm the pipes leading to quicker freezing. This is why the recommendation is to open the cabinet under the sink in addition letting the sink (especially the cold water) drip and the first attempted fix is to use a hair dryer to heat the pipe.
I drove behind Hobby Lobby this morning and I counted 83 people living in the dumpster. Local pipe burst victims...all warned ahead of time, and all paid no mind.
When will you people learn to DRIP YOUR FAUCETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can't save them all Sarge! Some people will continue to flaunt their luck until bam, pipes burst and they are living in a dumpster behind a strip mall Mexican restaurant.
As long as your home's thermostat is set to >32F, you should be fine.
I get your point, and if the world were black or white this would be true. But depending on the location of your thermostat, the source of heat, and the location of pipes... this mindset could be disastrous.
Example1: Perfectly uniform heat distribution inside and thermostat set to 65F. Outside temperature = 20F. Pipe is in exterior walls. There is a temperature gradient between the 65F inside temperature and the 20F outside temperature. The temperature inside the wall (the temperature the pipe is exposed to is going to be somewhere between 65F and 20F and will depend on some variables such as insulation, etc. The temperature outside drops from 20F to 0F...
Example 2: 20F outside. Imperfect heat distribution inside, which is almost always the case. Pipes are in location that doesn't get great heat distribution. Single thermostat for the house is set to 65F and the temperature in the room where the thermostat is located is indeed 65F, but in the back bedroom it's only 60F. And in the back bedroom closet it's 40F. There are pipes in the closet walls. You close that closet off b/c it's always cold and drafty. The outside temp drops from 20F to 0F.
Add in another variable that the generic houses "in the south" are not going to be insulated as well as a generic house "in the north" and you could really be up schitt's creek without a paddle.
I get your point, and if the world were black or white this would be true. But depending on the location of your thermostat, the source of heat, and the location of pipes... this mindset could be disastrous.
Example1: Perfectly uniform heat distribution inside and thermostat set to 65F. Outside temperature = 20F. Pipe is in exterior walls. There is a temperature gradient between the 65F inside temperature and the 20F outside temperature. The temperature inside the wall (the temperature the pipe is exposed to is going to be somewhere between 65F and 20F and will depend on some variables such as insulation, etc. The temperature outside drops from 20F to 0F...
Example 2: 20F outside. Imperfect heat distribution inside, which is almost always the case. Pipes are in location that doesn't get great heat distribution. Single thermostat for the house is set to 65F and the temperature in the room where the thermostat is located is indeed 65F, but in the back bedroom it's only 60F. And in the back bedroom closet it's 40F. There are pipes in the closet walls. You close that closet off b/c it's always cold and drafty. The outside temp drops from 20F to 0F.
Laughing my asz off from the Canadian prairie, where it is well below -20C (-5F) for weeks at a time.
Nobody is "dripping their faucets" here, or in Minneapolis for that matter.
I get your point, and if the world were black or white this would be true. But depending on the location of your thermostat, the source of heat, and the location of pipes... this mindset could be disastrous.
Example1: Perfectly uniform heat distribution inside and thermostat set to 65F. Outside temperature = 20F. Pipe is in exterior walls. There is a temperature gradient between the 65F inside temperature and the 20F outside temperature. The temperature inside the wall (the temperature the pipe is exposed to is going to be somewhere between 65F and 20F and will depend on some variables such as insulation, etc. The temperature outside drops from 20F to 0F...
Example 2: 20F outside. Imperfect heat distribution inside, which is almost always the case. Pipes are in location that doesn't get great heat distribution. Single thermostat for the house is set to 65F and the temperature in the room where the thermostat is located is indeed 65F, but in the back bedroom it's only 60F. And in the back bedroom closet it's 40F. There are pipes in the closet walls. You close that closet off b/c it's always cold and drafty. The outside temp drops from 20F to 0F.
Laughing my asz off from the Canadian prairie, where it is well below -20C (-5F) for weeks at a time.
Nobody is "dripping their faucets" here, or in Minneapolis for that matter.
This. homes in these climates should be built with frozen pipes in mind. if you live in an area where an arctic blast is rare, maybe it's a good idea.