plumbing and pipe problems?

Question

my furnace isnt working right now so I am using a space heater in my living room and kitchen. Which means my bathroom and bedroom are a bit chilly but I sleep in the living room for now and am more concern about keeping the front of the house warm. Last night I came home from work and my hot water in my bathroom wasnt working but at the same time the kitchen hot water was fine. I live in a small mobile home and my bathroom pipes are located under a pannel in the next room (my storage room) I removed the pannel and put a space heater near the pipes for a few minutes and than the hot water ran. I am using a tip from a friend leaving a faucet in the bathroom trickling and also the kitchen. I dont want to leave space heaters on when Im not home. Any tips on what I can do about my bathroom pipes? Should I maybe keep the wall pannel off and just do what I did last night if it happens again? Or is their a way I can prevent this? Suppose I run a blow dryer on the pipes.

Answer 1

The problem is hopefully is temporary… ;)
So just keep the hot and cold water dripping so there is a constant drip in the bathroom so the pipes don’t freeze ALSO, you can also get foam pipe insulators at the hardware store for about $2 per 4 ft section… cover all your exposed water lines this will help prevent freezing now and in the future by helping your hot water supply retain its heat… saving energy all year round… doing this in our house we found it necessary to lower the temp on the water heater ;)
Heater tape can be installed under the insulation for extra protection.

Look around the storage room for leaks that allow cold air inside where pipes are located. And seal than with insulting foam like “great stuff” and plastic and window in the space... consider shrink plastic for all rooms in you home if you have not already done so....

Never run a space heater when you're not home & check you smoke detector batteries!

Keep warm!

Answer 2

To keep the supply lines flowing, leave the doors to the cabinets and the doors to the cooler rooms open. You may even need to run a box fan on lowest speed to circulate the warm air when the temperature outside is below freezing. Leave the wall panel off until you get the furnace fixed.

The oil-filled electric heaters and the ceramic electric heaters are designed to not set the place on fire unless something is right up next to them. The cheap radiant electric heaters that get very hot I would not leave on in an unattended house.

Answer 3

buy a work light, the type with the big metal hood on it, they look like an old fashion hub cap from the old cars. put a 75 or 100 watt light bulb in it and plug it in and set it up to shine on the pipes. the heat from the light should keep the pipes warm enough when you aren't home and have the heater going. don't put the light too close to anything flammable, though. also leave the cover panel off until it gets warm or you fix the furnace. good luck, hope this helps.

Answer 4

You'd be surprised how much heat a 100 watt lite bulb will put out, its alot safer than the space heater, Why don't you just buy heat tape that will always keep them warm, not sure where your at but my winter right now is minus 9.

Answer 5

Try wrapping the pipes with "Heat Tape" You buy it from any Hardware store. You just wrap it around the pipes and plug it in. Much safer than leaving the space heater run. esp. if your not home.

Answer 6

in a closed area, a 100w bulb will keep the space warm and deter a freeze. On the other hand, you can use wire heat wrap and wrap the cold feed to the htr and the hot side will care for itself. \choose the less costly of the two.

Answer 7

I would keep the panel off and keep the space heater set on the lowest setting.

Answer 8

confusing point. lookup on google or bing. it could help!