The Day the Hose Froze: A Blond Moment
(Thanks to Cathleen G. for the inspiration for the title!)
The temperature hovered between 27 and 28 degrees for most of the day, so said the AcuRite thermometer attached to the tree outside, transmitting the digital reading to the receiver inside my warm RV.
I originally planned to stay inside, warm and dry. However, after spending a day in front the computer I opted to run some errands and meet with friends. At 4:00 p.m. it was still a chilly 29-30 degrees, according to the thermometer in my car. That was the high for the day.
Drizzling rain froze on the windshield as I drove.
Four hours later I’m back home, warming up. I puttered around the house for a bit, and then turned on the faucet… *pthhh pthhhh* The water trickled and sputtered from the faucet for a couple seconds before stopping altogether.
??
I tried it again a few minutes later… *pthhh pthhh pthh* Then nothing.
Could it be my wrapped pipes froze??
Oh, I know how to fix this! I turned on the hot water heater. My logic behind this: If the hose and outside pipes are frozen, I should still be able to get water from the hot water heater, which is inside and independent of the frozen hose outside. I later learned this logic is a tad “blond”.
Still no water.
What does a clueless blond do when faced with a dilemma? She posts her dilemma on Facebook because she has awesome, smart friends.
During a long and helpful thread, one suggestion mentioned making sure it was the pipes/hose outside that was frozen, and not the pipes inside.
Oh. Suddenly, I began to worry the problem might not be outside. I put on the big jacket I’d taken off just an hour before, opened the door – and promptly slipped down the now icy steps. All. of. them.
Yup, that hurt. It’s been over a week and I still have bruises on my butt and back. And no masseuse. *sigh*
After I picked myself up from the ground, I hobbled over to the suspect hose. I confirmed the hose was frozen. I fell down the icy steps for nothing. Awesome.
But I must have also hit my head and knocked some sense into it. While checking the hose, I noticed the switch that converts the RV water supply from the (frozen) city water to the holding tank.
*light bulb moment*
Hey, I bet I can have running water if I switch over to the holding tank! Viola! One flip of the switch and I had hot and cold running water. Mind you, it was old water, but water nonetheless.
That was just over a week ago. Today, the high temperature was 72 degrees and I’m in shorts and a t-shirt. (See “Thursday” in the above illustration.) This Friday is supposed to be even warmer, and just like in the illustration, I hope to be in a bikini.
In other news… I’ve updated the post with my latest Yahoo articles. Check them out, share them with friends.
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