Cold Weather Water Woes
The second snow of the season arrived on the mountain today and we got about 4 inches here on Sunset Ridge. A cold front arrives tomorrow with promised lows of 13, 9, 9 and 14 °F (-11, -13, -13, and -10 °C)for the next four nights. That, coupled with promised daytime highs well below freezing, is the formula that usually results in my water pipe freezing underground somewhere between the well and the house.
Thawing the water pipe is a matter of waiting for at least four days of "warm" temperatures north of freezing.
Why, you might ask, don't I simply run a water drip during these cols spells? The answer is that, over a four-day period of time, this runs the well dry, leaving me in the same predicament — namely, without water. So, I simply load up the bathtub with gallon containers of water and hope for the best.
I have learned to take a "shower" with a single gallon of water but, as you can imagine, that's a bit tedious. The alternative, which I greatly prefer, is to join the Alleghany Wellness Center for a month and take nice ... long ... warm ... showers there, provided, of course, that I can actually get into town.
The third bathing solution is what I call the "Dan'l Boone Option". In this case one simply stands downwind of everyone else and waits for the spring thaw!
That's, of course, a real stinker.
Thawing the water pipe is a matter of waiting for at least four days of "warm" temperatures north of freezing.
Why, you might ask, don't I simply run a water drip during these cols spells? The answer is that, over a four-day period of time, this runs the well dry, leaving me in the same predicament — namely, without water. So, I simply load up the bathtub with gallon containers of water and hope for the best.
I have learned to take a "shower" with a single gallon of water but, as you can imagine, that's a bit tedious. The alternative, which I greatly prefer, is to join the Alleghany Wellness Center for a month and take nice ... long ... warm ... showers there, provided, of course, that I can actually get into town.
The third bathing solution is what I call the "Dan'l Boone Option". In this case one simply stands downwind of everyone else and waits for the spring thaw!
That's, of course, a real stinker.
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