Every year, over 250,000 U.S. homes suffer damage from frozen water pipes.
Even if you live in a moderate climate, cold temperatures can cause pipes to freeze.
Richard S. had a good heart according to his family.
He was part of the Greatest Generation and fought for his country during World War II.
The elderly man lived in a mobile home in Dalton, PA, and enjoyed a quiet life with his wife.
One afternoon, the running water in the mobile home stopped working.
The water pipes had frozen, and they couldn’t get any water to flow.
In an attempt to fix the frozen pipes, Richard tried to thaw the pipes with a heat source.
Suddenly, Richard’s wife saw a fire in the mobile home’s utility room.
Thankfully, she was able to get out of the house before the fire spread.
Sadly, Richard wasn’t as lucky.
He got away from the house but passed away from the heat effects of the fire.
“They found my grandmother walking out of her house at that time, and that’s when another neighbor came and got her,” said the couple’s grandson.
According to the fire chief, “The roof collapsed moments after we got here, it was just pillaring black smoke. You could see it down in the center of town, so we knew we had a fully involved one.”
Richard’s grandson said, “He was a very, very kind soul. He loved everybody and everybody loved him.”
He added that Richard was the type of guy who liked to work around his property and do things on his own.
The grandson said, “He’s lived a very long, happy life, and we had fun with him on the holidays, and some of my family went out to eat with him.”
The fact is that Richard, like many Americans, was accustomed to turning on the tap and having safe drinking water.
Yet, during a disaster, or when your pipes freeze, water may not flow, or it might not be safe to drink.
This is why it’s so important to have a good amount of water stored at your home.
But, what if your stored water freezes?
In other words, some people keep their water storage in their garage or in a shed in the backyard instead of inside of the home.
Why does it matter if your stored water freezes?
If you need to use your water storage and you find it frozen, it’s not as simple as thawing it out.
First, drinking ice or really cold water can lower your body temperature.
Depending on the circumstances this could be dangerous during a disaster.
Second, thawing ice to make water takes a lot of time.
If it’s cold outside and you are using a heat source, it can be a very slow-going and dangerous process.
In addition, when water freezes it expands.
So, if you have the water stored in some type of plastic container it could crack or even burst from the water freezing.
How to prevent your water storage from freezing in the first place:
Insulation:
There are many different ways to add insulation to your water storage containers.
One simple way is to use foam to surround the containers.
Another method is to use foil or Mylar blankets.
These will help the containers retain the warmth inside the container.
It’s the same as using these to keep your body warm in cold environments.
Lastly, there are insulation covers that are made specifically to wrap around water containers.
These are usually made of silicone or neoprene.
The best thing about adding insulation is that you should be able to leave it on the containers without having to redo or remove it.
Heat tape:
Another way to keep your water storage from freezing is to use heat tape.
There are many different types of heat tape or heat cables, but they mostly do the same thing.
They plug in and provide heat through the tape/cables.
It’s a simple way to prevent the water storage from freezing.
Of course, you want to make sure that the container holding the water can withstand the heat.
You want to try and wrap as much of the container as you can with the tape or cable.
At the very least, it will slow the rate of the water getting too cold or freezing.
Water heater:
One of the best ways to heat your water storage is to use a submersible water heater.
Simply put them in the water and plug them in.
The heater will warm up the conductive element and in turn, heat the water.
These sell for about $30 on Amazon.
Now, if you use 16 oz bottles of water for your water stockpile this method wouldn’t work.
But if you use large containers (such as a 55-gallon barrel) this could be a good way to keep your water from freezing.
A submersible water heater is going to be a lot easier than trying to heat the water containers from the outside.
The only drawback is that it requires power.
Consider which method will work for you…
Then, next time you add to your water storage or change out containers it’s worth adding this protection to your stockpile.
