. It's about 11 degrees now and falling. Will be -30 degrees with the wind overnight!
I spent a few hours beefing up my rather poor water pipe insulation in the basement. Some of it is quite close to the outer wall, and that's what I focused on. However, like Goldilocks, I discovered that 1" diameter foam insulation leaves a bit of a gap while 1/2" diameter foam insulation is very snug and hard to close completely.
I ruefully thought oh, it figures, I didn't get the 3/4" inch (my pipes are all different diameters!), but then upon researching I learned that 1" diameter foam on a 3/4" pipe actually provides better insulation, as long as you use insulation tape (which I have) to seal the 2 ends. So I think I got most of it along the wall; some of the copper pipe can be viewed with a flashlight but is nearly impossible to reach due to ductwork and other pipes in the way. It may not look pretty with all my cuts to fit around stuff, but hopefully will do the job. I still have some leftover foam, but not too much.
I mean I've been here 30 years and never had frozen pipes, and there must've been prior times when it got this cold. And the wind chill is not a factor in my unheated basement so without the wind chill, it will be -2 degrees overnight. Note to self: Buy a few more 100 watt incandecent light bulbs; I use 2 in the basement but one burnt out. These really come in handy at times like this as they throw off a lot of heat.
I debated whether I should go out now to shovel the few inches of snow on the driveway, solely because Amazon has informed me they are delivering something today. If I don't shovel, they'll likely leave the package at the bottom of the driveway where anyone could grab it. However, I'm home and monitoring my email, so as soon as I get notification, I'll just run out to get it and come back in.
Nah, I just went out and shoveled it.
I've read that it's only necessary to have one faucet dripping, and to chose the one that's furthest from where the water enters your house to ensure that slowly dripping water passes through all the pipes. But I have all faucets dripping anyway; it should drip at about 1 drip per second.
February 7th, 2026 at 10:22 pm 1770502934
February 8th, 2026 at 09:34 am 1770543299
But wow, -30F? That’s so insane. This year really has been particular cold. I hear that it has gotten so cold that even iguanas are freezing and falling out of trees in Florida. Crazy.
February 9th, 2026 at 04:25 pm 1770654321