Frozen water pipes in a mobile home...help! (motorhome, water heater)

[GaiaGoddess]

Before you say to call a plumber, I checked out 2 local plumbers who both said they won't come to your house to thaw out your pipes because it's too time consuming and would be too expensive. Instead, they say to hold a blow dryer up to the frozen pipe and have patience. Well I don't know about any of you, but I can't stand outside longer than a few minutes at a time when it's below zero. The previous owners did this and apparently it worked very quickly for them, but I stood out there on and off for almost 2 hours and still no water coming out of my faucets so once it got dark and I couldn't feel my legs anymore, I gave up.

I have 2 questions; Can I use my toilet? So far I have been going into a bucket but it's almost full (been 2 days now) and I have nowhere to dump it. I can't just dump it outside because it will just freeze into a pile and be there all winter, not to mention it's extra gross because it's that time of the month, (sorry, no way to candy coat that). So technically my toilet should work to get the stuff down, right? I bought a bunch of bottled water so could I just pour that into the toilet after I flush it, so it can flush again?

And my 2nd question is, I know you're supposed to shut your main water valve off to prevent the pipes from bursting, but I don't know which one is the right one (there's at least 2 valves and they don't say what they are or which way to turn them). If I did shut the water off somehow, though, how would I turn it back on without them bursting then? Won't they burst the minute water is flowing again, regardless of whether I turn it back on or it's been on the whole time?

To make things worse, I can't miss any work at all because I am in the probationary period and if I miss a day I won't get hired on permanently. And I have to work tomorrow through Friday, and I won't be home (except to sleep) so I can't have anyone come help me, and if my pipes burst while i'm at work it could be over 10 hours til I can get home, will my entire trailer flood and be a solid block of un-livable ice? I am just so upset I don't know what to do. I haven't been able to take a shower or use my toilet in 2 days and it isn't supposed to get above freezing at all in the next week.

UPDATE; Just as I was posting this, my water suddenly started working again, BUT the problem now is that a bunch of crud came up into my bathtub, it must be sewer water, but it isn't smelly, it's not #2, lol It's like drain gunk. So now even though my water is miraculously somehow working again, I still can't take a shower because the tub won't drain! What is going on with that? I guess I will leave my faucets trickling 24/7 so they don't freeze again, but I don't want my tub to overflow!

[demtion35]

Yes, turn the faucets on half way and leave therm there. The water shut off is probably in=line so if the handle is lined up with the pipe it is open, if it is at a 90 degree to the pipe then it is closed.

Go to Menards or Hardware store and get some heat tape and wrap the pipes, all of them from the ground to the bottom of the trailor and anything you can inside under the vanity ext. Forget the hairdryer, how do you know where to point it at the frozen section.

I would get a guy over there even if you are at work, it is better than having the pipes break that would be way worse. Wrap the pipes in heat tape and insulate them with wrap, it is alot of work, but it has to be done.

Best of luck sorry this is happening at such cold time of year. I would for sure get a guy over there and wrap those pipes asap.

[GaiaGoddess]

They are already wrapped in heat tape. And it's plugged in and working, the light was on it. There is insulation all over it too. The previous owners said the only spot it freezes is right there when you open the door so all they've ever done to fix it is use the blow dryer on that one spot.

I opened up all my cabinet doors that cover the drainpipes, i wonder if that had anything to do with why my water is working now, because it started working shortly after I did that.

But I can't figure out why all this gunk came up into my bathtub and now I can't drain it?! How can that freeze when there's been no water in there?

UPDATE; I just realized my kitchen sinks are also not draining, which is odd because they're on the opposite end of the trailer as the bathroom. And my bathroom sinks ARE draining, even though they're connected to the tub which is NOT draining. None of this makes sense. I am still scared to flush my toilet because now it's a 50/50 chance if it'll work or not and if it backs up into my tub or kitchen sinks then I got a real problem!

[GaiaGoddess]

...oh also, I can't leave my shower faucet running at all because the tub isn't draining so it would fill up and I would have no way of getting it out and it would eventually overflow, unless whatever the problem is fixes itself within a day or two. I can't even shower yet, this sucks!

[bfrabel]

I dont have much advice for you other than to say you should be able to try "bucket flushing" your toilet to find out if it works or not. If you fill up a bucket and dump it into your toilet, once the water gets to a certain level it should automatically flush and empty itself out. This would probably be a safer test than pushing the handle.

Good luck!

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by bfrabel

I dont have much advice for you other than to say you should be able to try "bucket flushing" your toilet to find out if it works or not. If you fill up a bucket and dump it into your toilet, once the water gets to a certain level it should automatically flush and empty itself out. This would probably be a safer test than pushing the handle.

Good luck!

Toilets do that? If you dump enough water in them they'll flush by themselves? I'm just scared if it goes to the same place as the tub, it'll get stuck and be too much pressure and make the pipe burst, or back up again right into the toilet making it overflow.

Tonight I finally took a shower since my water is working but i had to scoop out the water since the drain pipe is still froze. I don't understand how my tub drain is froze but my bathroom sink isn't. So I am able to use a big cup and scoop the water out into the sink. My kitchen drain pipe is still froze too.

[bfrabel]

Originally Posted by GaiaGoddess

Toilets do that? If you dump enough water in them they'll flush by themselves? I'm just scared if it goes to the same place as the tub, it'll get stuck and be too much pressure and make the pipe burst, or back up again right into the toilet making it overflow.

Tonight I finally took a shower since my water is working but i had to scoop out the water since the drain pipe is still froze. I don't understand how my tub drain is froze but my bathroom sink isn't. So I am able to use a big cup and scoop the water out into the sink. My kitchen drain pipe is still froze too.

Yeah, toilets will do that. If you dump a bucket of water in it it should flush and empty it'self out. The water in the tank behind the toilet will stay full and the bowl won't refill with water until you push the handle, so it shouldn't overflow. Your drain pipes won't have any pressure in them other than the weight of the water, so they should be able to handle it. If your toilet drain is plugged up, the worse that should happen is that the water will stay in the bowl.

I have an experiment that might be worth trying. Go to walmart and find some anti-freeze designed for winterizing pipes. I think they have it in the automotive or camping section and I think it'll have a picture of a big motor-home on it. You're looking for either propylene glycol or glycerin. Don't get regular car anti-freeze because it's toxic and I believe illegal to dump down the drain. Try dumping some into your bathtub and/or other sinks that aren't draining and let it sit there for a while. Maybe it will help move things along.

It's supposed to warm up a little bit during the next couple of days, so there might be hope. I just heard that next weekend the cold is supposed to come back and punch us in the face again though, so good luck.

[Ghengis]

you all are being trolled

[arleigh]

I would get some RV antifreeze (or salt) and add just a little to each drain and the P trap will have a chance to thaw the drains will need heat tape as well, a lot of people forget .
For now If I were you I'd completely drain the system, and bucket water for my needs and make the time to put a skirt around the vehicle to keep the wind out as much as possible ,(don't cover vents) Personally I would use boat shrink wrap , the material will out live the motorhome.
Also there is a crystal clear plastic that is for the windows to help hold the heat in , believe me it works. fallow the instructions. Learn the principles of insulation, and dead air space.
If your grey water is not flowing, don't leave faucets going.
You might add heat tape to the bottom side of the sewer drain hose, don't wrap it with heat tape, it an get to hot and melt it.
Make sure the water heater is empty as well and gas shut off.
Add RV antifreeze to your potable water tank and make sure that that water is cycled through out the vehicle plumbing.
I would put a min/max thermometer's" on the inside and under the vehicle after the skirt is secure all around it.
Areas of critical concern I would have a drop light with a rough service bulb in that area and use a thermostat they use for heat tape to regulate it.
Done correctly and you can see the temperature is stabilized above freezing, then I might re start the water system.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

you all are being trolled

What plumber refuses a job because he has to charge too much? LOL!