Question: I reside in Neighborhood 27. I look for, with great interest, the Woodchucks’ informative column in the Sun Day. I‘m not certain if you have covered my concern before. I have no idea what needs to be done if we ever experience a power outage during the winter months, which lasts for many hours with regards to water pipes, toilets, water heater, and whatever else requires immediate attention.
Hopefully we never do have that experience, but it would be good to know if there are steps to be taken by the homeowners to avoid any catastrophic happening (especially considering our age, capability, and that many in Sun City are ladies living alone).
Answer: A power outage long enough to cause your water pipes to freeze is highly unlikely. We are not in a remote, rural area where it would be difficult to get crews and equipment in to fix a problem. Depending on the outside temperature, there should be no problem going two days without power. Beyond that point, you can prevent the pipes from freezing by running the water in each faucet at a very slow pace. You should keep the doors and windows closed to minimize any temperature drop.
I have a night set back on my thermostat that sets the daytime temperature of 68 degrees back to 63 degrees at 11 p.m. This shuts the furnace off at 11, just as it would if the power went off. I know that most nights it does not drop the five degrees to 63 by 7 a.m. when the thermostat reverts to 68. On the very coldest nights it drops five degrees in eight hours. With the same low outside temperature, the inside temperature would drop about 15 degrees in a 24-hour day. In two days it might drop 30 degrees to 38. This would be a cold environment to live in but the pipes would not freeze.
Each house would react a little different, but you can run an experiment to see how fast the temperature in your house would drop. Before you go to bed, shut off the heat at the thermostat. Note the inside and outside temperatures. Set your alarm for eight hours later. When the alarm rings, record the inside and outside temperatures and turn the heat back on. The drop you record for the inside temperature is how much the temperature would drop in your house in an eight-hour period for that outside temperature. This will tell you how long you could endure a power failure before the inside temperature reaches 30 degrees and pipes would start to freeze.
Update: Last month I gave the telephone number for Simonton Windows (1-800-Simonton) so owners of Pulte homes with window seal failures could call to get warranty information. One resident contacted me to say he called the number and got a site with “hot babes.” I checked the number, strictly for business purposes, and did not reach the “hot babes.” That is the correct number for Simonton Windows. Don’t write me, I don’t have the number for the “hot babes.”
• If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com
