homeowners (in cold areas)
 

does anyone know if it's better to let your water drip or to shut the water off at the meter and drain the pipes when it's disgustingly cold out?

It's supposed to be -20 where i am tonight and i like my pipe's without cracks in them pissing out water all over my house.

you should be ok if your pipes run along inside walls but ALL faucets that run in the outside walls should be left running a little. that includes the hot water, that can freeze too if the water is not moving.

-40 here, pipes are doin ok

:winkwink:

We have always run the water. Besides if it a regular thing you should have insulation and line heaters on the pipes that are at risk..

Agreed!

most say you should run water, i guess it depends on how old your house and pipes are.

This might be old school as I grew up in the country but I still do this to my house and havent had a problem. I turn on all outside lines full blast and shut down just those lines inside the house. There is usually a shut off located around the meter depending on how your plumbing was set up.

Drain all pipes that are exposed to freezing, if its cold enough even letting them drip they can still freeze.

-20 is not the end all if the house is in an area that normally gets to -20. I would do nothing special where I live. If it goes for a week or so I would do the drip thing maybe.

is this a vacant house? if the house is heated, you shouldn't have any problems - at least with indoor pipes

what's outside? a spigot, or actual pipes? are they buried below a frost line?