Help help help

sazzy6

I am meant to be heading home for Christmas in about 2 hours and so just thought I'd do a quick wash with a few things that I wanted to take with me, that I had worn this week.

Anyway I think the water pipe to my washing machine has frozen!?!? It is making a strange sound as it tries to fill up and the flexible plastic pipe is very cold and not very flexible (although I can't say I have tried it for flexibility before now.)

What is my best option? I have put a little heater in the utility room - but will this heat it up too quickly? I am going to cause more damage by doing this?

It has never frozen out there before so I'm not even 100% sure it is frozen.


Oh why today!!!!

Butterfly_Brain

If it is frozen try a hairdryer on gentle heat to try to defrost it - Alternitavely you could have something stuck in your pump try removing the filter and cleaning it.

failing that take your washing with you and ask your Mum if you can use her machine

HTH

sazzy6

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

If it is frozen try a hairdryer on gentle heat to try to defrost it - Alternitavely you could have something stuck in your pump try removing the filter and cleaning it.

failing that take your washing with you and ask your Mum if you can use her machine

HTH

Thanks - I will give the hair dryer a go.

How do I get the washing out of the machine though - the door lock has started as I set the cycle off, even though there is clearly no water in there.

iris

Just turn the machine off and then listen for the usual 'click' (usually a couple of minutes) indicating the you can open the door of the machine.

Hope it's nothing serious.

seraphina

This is exactly what happened to our machine at the weekend. We stuck an oil filled radiator in the outhouse where it lives as well as giving it a blast with a hairdryer and eventually it got going. Bear in mind it took pretty much all day to defrost, and then I was worried that the temperature was dropping as it got later in the day and it could all freeze up again.

sazzy6

The washer has just started working again - thank goodness!! The heater must have done the trick. :j:beer::j


I think I am going to leave the utility door open - into the kitchen, while we are away. It will the make kitchen a lot colder but I am hoping it will also increase the temperature in utility, which is only 1 brick thick.

What do you think???

kunekune

We've got a problem with the sink in the downstairs toilet. It's part of an extension and the water pipe travels a long way, the sink isn't draining and we think the pipe is frozen. Doesn't affect any other rooms in the house. We've turned on the heater in the toilet and are using the dryer and washing machine in the kitchen (against the same outside wall), in the hope of warming it up. Trouble is, the tap in there is dodgy and the water coming in isn't frozen, so I have to empty the (small) sink about once an hour. Hope it's fixed by bedtime!!!! Chances of a plumber are nil, given the much more serious problems everyone else has.

sazzy6

kunekune wrote: »

We've got a problem with the sink in the downstairs toilet. It's part of an extension and the water pipe travels a long way, the sink isn't draining and we think the pipe is frozen. Doesn't affect any other rooms in the house. We've turned on the heater in the toilet and are using the dryer and washing machine in the kitchen (against the same outside wall), in the hope of warming it up. Trouble is, the tap in there is dodgy and the water coming in isn't frozen, so I have to empty the (small) sink about once an hour. Hope it's fixed by bedtime!!!! Chances of a plumber are nil, given the much more serious problems everyone else has.

It might only be a 'small' problem in comparison to other but it is still causing you problems. I fully sympathise and hope you get it sorted out.

curlytop12

sazzy6 wrote: »

The washer has just started working again - thank goodness!! The heater must have done the trick. :j:beer::j


I think I am going to leave the utility door open - into the kitchen, while we are away. It will the make kitchen a lot colder but I am hoping it will also increase the temperature in utility, which is only 1 brick thick.

What do you think???

or maybe turn water off at stopcock and open taps until water finishes running.then even if pipes freeze,thet cannot burst as no water in them.
depends how long you away for and if you keeping any central heating on(you would have to turn heating off if emptying system)
G

bluebag

kunekune wrote: »

We've got a problem with the sink in the downstairs toilet. It's part of an extension and the water pipe travels a long way, the sink isn't draining and we think the pipe is frozen. Doesn't affect any other rooms in the house. We've turned on the heater in the toilet and are using the dryer and washing machine in the kitchen (against the same outside wall), in the hope of warming it up. Trouble is, the tap in there is dodgy and the water coming in isn't frozen, so I have to empty the (small) sink about once an hour. Hope it's fixed by bedtime!!!! Chances of a plumber are nil, given the much more serious problems everyone else has.

After you have baled the water out of the sink try a kettle of boiling water with a really good dollop of salt in. If it doesn't help you will just have to bale it out as before, very frustrating situation.

When I was a kid we had an outside lavvy, used to freeze solid in the bowl, my mum used to do this to defost it.

kafkathecat

Kunekune Our pipe draining our bath froze so we wrapped towels around it and poured boiling water on them. That did the trick so give that a try if you have access.