Water break?

Question

Alright, this is creeping me out a bit.

Okay, my grandmothers house water was turned off a while ago. And, to ensure that no water mane would break, we turned on all the faucets and let them run out. We left them on, as to drain all the pipes, turned off the actual water valve, and then left it. Okay, so, phase into a few weeks later. We go back, and the water isn't running. Then, we go downstairs, and all of a sudden..it starts running again. A STEADY stream, none the less, even though it has been running for WEEKS. So, we go back upstairs, and turn off all the faucets, then turn them back on, and it's running again. We wait again until all are drained, made sure the water valve was turned off [no movement in the water breaker], and left. Now, three weeks later, a PIPE has exploded. And now the whole house is flooded. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE, if we drained all the faucets and the actaul water people turned off the water and NO water is going to the house? please and thanks, lovelies.

Answer 1

The shut off from the utility company is not shutting off all the way. It is seeping water in the off position. When you open the faucets up you are bleeding the pressure off and the water coming in from the street is probably only seeping after a while the seeping fills the line and runs a stream. Call your utility company and have them to replace their shut off. If you are lucky you might be able to get them to pay for some of the repairs since their valve didn't shut off.

Answer 2

Sounds like your grandmothers house has water supply to multiple floors. When you turned off the water, and opened the faucets, you only relieved the pressure in the pipes... you did not actually 'drain' them. And it can be surprising just how much water those pipes can hold, hehehehe (and dont forget the water in the hot water heater, or boiler).

It is possible, that when the water company shut off the supply to the home, they did not get it 'completely' shut off. Even a trickle, over time, can add up to quite a bit of water.

If you had left at least one faucet open upstairs, and then opened a downstairs faucet, gravity would have helped pull more of the water inside the pipes out... and it could have seemed enough like the water had not been shut off. You would have simply been draining the water already in the pipes tho.

Even doing this, however, will usually leave some water behind, in some of the pipes, and when it freezes, it expands. This can lead to broken pipes.

When 'winterizing' a home by removing the water from the pipes, you need to remove ALL the water... not just the pressure. To do this, you would most likely need to pressurize the system with compressed air, forcing the water out of the pipes. The hot water heater, or boiler tank, should also be drained, and do not forget to shut them off, so you do not damage any heating elements within them.

Better luck next time.

Answer 3

Ok, first off, you can almost "never" drain the water out by "gravity"...

In order to "ensure" that all water is out of the pipes, you need to get an air compressor and "blow" the water out of the pipes! Starting from the highest valves, or tap, to the lowest.

Obviously it froze in your GrandMother's house, and some water that was left in the line expanded and busted the pipes. (Its why I love PEX plumbing, it can expand and not be hurt, usually a couple of times before it starts to show any damage from the freezing and thawing process).

Now, another thing you could have done to help "protect" the pipes, was wrap them in "tubes"...Styrofoam tubes..comes in 3 feet sections, and they have it for half or three-quarter inch pipes. You have to duct tape them together, and the seams too, and you wont have any problems of bursting pipes, when they should be emptied...(Yes, I would "still" empty the pipes if your going on a long and extended vacation away from the house and its going to freeze in the house with out heat!).

Also, the Water Breaker, or Water Meter has water in it too!!! This will freeze and shatter also.... (Also the pipe that is coming out of the wall to the water breaker needs to be insulated, because "it" holds water also!).

Traps also hold water!! So, your sinks, and possibly comode or toilet should have been insulated by adding antifreeze down them!! (I hate to see a shattered toilet...a huge mess when they self destruct!)...

A lesson learned, and I hope you take proper precautions next time...

I wouldnt use "heat tape" on the pipes that are "supposively" empty, because the water takes the heat away, and if you dont have water in them, it may short out the tape and burn the house down!

I wish you well..

Jesse

Answer 4

There was still water in the pipes and it froze. The only way to get all the water out is to blow it out with air. Yuo can buy a special anti-freeze for potable water too.