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This article was published 08/02/2021 (1846 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Nyala Ali’s pipes froze during her first winter as a homeowner eight years ago, she had no idea what to do.

Concerned, she called the city and asked them to come and check the water line coming into her West End home – only to be told she had joined the considerable club of Winnipeg homeowners who deal with pipes freezing in the dead of winter.

After years of troubleshooting, Ali is an old pro now. She expects her pipes to freeze once the temperature dips below -30 C, and this year was no different. Outfitted with a myriad of heat-cleaning tools – a heat gun, insulation, heat tape, even a hair dryer in a pinch – she reached into her arsenal over the weekend and Monday to fix her frozen pipes.

“I didn’t expect it for some reason, and then got up and said ‘OK, I’m going to make some oatmeal and some coffee, get some stuff done – nope,” she said. “It was pipes-o-clock.”

The current extreme cold means Ali isn’t alone. Relatively mild January weather resulted in the city receiving 15 frozen pipe reports for internal plumbing, by the first week of February the city had received 86 reports of frozen pipes.

That fivefold increase increase points to a major cold trend. By the first week of February last year, there were just 40 reports made to the city.

“Residents are reminded to take steps to prevent internal frozen pipes, including insulating pipes and areas containing pipes, weather-sealing windows and air leaks, and setting the thermostat no lower than 12 C,” a spokesperson for the city said in an email.

Though Ali said the situation is stressful, she’s resigned herself to winters as a Winnipeg homeowner.

“I’d still rather deal with that than having to go outside to shovel, because I can deal with it inside the house” she said with a laugh. “It’s not the furnace, I don’t have a car that won’t start, so I feel like there’s worse things than some frozen pipes.”

Zach Fleisher was supposed to get a haircut Monday. The Earl Grey resident found himself deciding whether to cancel the appointment, made weeks in advance, after learning his pipes were frozen and he wouldn’t be able to wash his hair beforehand.

“It’s a bit silly right now, I’ve kind of got the whole Paul McCartney circa 1971 look going,” he said. “I’m really quite eager to get rid of it, and I bet my partner’s probably even more so.”

He, like Ali, said he’s used to dealing with frozen pipes, which he chalks up to living in an older home.

Fleisher is pulling out all the stops – setting up electrical heating on the pipes, running the taps, firing up a space heater – and said he’s just thankful that he and his partner were able to send their son to daycare for the day.

“I guess it’s a good day to be working from home, because I can try and fix it, and hopefully it comes around soon,” he said.

The city cautions against many home remedies such as space heaters and hair dryers, noting they can result in an electrical shock should pipes leak, instead recommending pipes be wrapped with warm towels or cloths.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_