she has a car but is getting too frail to drive; I don't have a car and need to go. Since there's not many stores in town, an errand run for both of us doesn't take that long. But she still feels more obligated than she should in my view, and she's only too happy to let me do a little laundry in her basement.
After 8 years and lots of improvements, including maximum insulation, I thought I knew this house. Well, I did, but we never had over a week of 15 and 20 below either. It's always been just a few days and then it's over. The gentler methods of hot water or baking soda and vinegar always worked before. Dripping the faucets always worked - in the past. Now I have a stubbornly frozen (not burst, thank God) cold water line to the kitchen faucet and the downstairs half bath. So I'm keeping the little heaters running under there at night too until it's over.
Next time we get caught in a polar vortex, I'll have heat tape already on the pipes but will still drip them. And the washing machine exit pipe trap some fool put under the house where it's sure to freeze will get a few tablespoons of liquid non-toxic antifreeze the first night we have below zero. I just got blindsided by conditions this one time. I also bought a 15' toilet auger today. Eventually that should help me with the ice-melt clog now sitting on top of the ice jam. Considering how things could've gone, I got off easy. I've always been afraid of heat tape causing a fire, but this has been incentive enough to overcome that dread.
..... Sorry if my answers tend toward too much detail. But I felt the urge to add one more thing to this one. It feels SO GOOD to be sitting here after a bath, in 2 pairs of warm flannels under a hooded chennile robe, and heavy wool socks and Ugg-style fur-lined booties. I got a catalog today with a good buy on 100% wool socks, so on the 12th I'm going to order some more. I buy the larger men's sizes to fit over one or two other pair.
= new reply since forum marked as read