Our water pipes froze during that power outage the other day, so we’ve had no water for a while. Today The Guy Who Knows (GWK) came by to thaw our pipes for us. GWK’s approach involves using a propane-powered blow-torch to thaw the earth and the lines from the cistern to the house. It’s alarming seeing so much flame right up against the side of the house, but we couldn’t think of any better options. And GWK is really good at getting us out of trouble.

What we’ve learned: outside water pipes should have a little electric coil around them to keep them warm in weather like this. That, of course, will only help when the power’s on. They should also be surrounded by insulation, which just might keep things from freezing during the next 19-hour power outage. Among other instructions: keep water flowing somewhere in the house, just enough to have a constant drip, drip, drip. Fill up the bathtub that way, so that you’ll have water the next time the power goes out, which will probably be within the next week.

Meanwhile, here are some other methods for thawing frozen pipes:

Isn’t winter fun?

Update: Insulating water pipes.