No water from the facet in the Kitchen, every other place is okay

I had a strange problem starting this morning that I don't have any water coming out from the facet on the sink in the kitchen, while every other places the water is fine (bathrooms and etc.).

I don't know what happened, I am living in Bellevue, WA and in the last two days we have snows and the weather is cold. I am not sure if this is due to the cold weather or something clogged there, the odd thing is it only happens to the facet on the sink in the kitchen.

Should I wait the weather to get warm a bit then check it out, or I need to call for plumbing service the sooner the better, or in general what could be the problem what I can do by myself?

Any help is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Reply to
Hilbert
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You have a frozen water pipe.

If this happens often enough, the pipe will burst and you will have a big problem.

You need to find where the pipe is freezing and stop the cold air penetration that is causing it.

Reply to
Dan Espen

If it's a frozen pipe, opening the cupboard below the sink may help get more heat to the pipes when it's cold. If your pipes go through a crawl space, you may have to get under there and insulate the pipes or wrap them with heat tape.

Or it could just be a clogged faucet aerator, but this rarely stops the water completely.

Leaving the water dripping slowly when it's really cold out can help avoid the problem also. The flow of water keeps the pipes just warm enough to not freeze.

Bob

Reply to
Bob F

Reply to
buffalobill

It looks like things will warm up tomorrow. Then, you need to watch out for leaks whereever it was frozen. If you hear water running, or see the meter moving when everything is turned off, find the problem before it does a lot of damage.

Bob

Reply to
Bob F

...

I guess it _could_ be frozen pipes, but a few questions/thoughts...

Just how cold has it been and for how long? Unless you have been quite cold or a pipe is running exposed in an unheated place (like under the house, maybe?) I wouldn't have thought you would have had a complete freeze in only a couple of days unless you're quite a bit colder than I think it normally gets there...guess I could go look at a weather site and see, but hey, it's usenet... :)

How long have you been in the house and have you had similar problem in the past if been a while? Is it much colder than normal or has any remodeling or any other modifications done that could have changed/damaged the insulation in any location? Any chance there's been a heat tape or other heat in an unheated area that you didn't turn on or that has failed?

Is it hot or cold or both? Typically, hot water lines will freeze before cold as the entrained air tends to come out by the water heater. If it were the hot and not the cold, then I'd be pretty convinced -- not that the symptoms don't sound likely, I'm just surprised...

Others suggested the open cabinet doors "trick" -- any other way you can think of to get some extra heating into an area where the pipes run would be good. If there is a crawl space and they run through it, adding insulation and/or heat tape or some other source would certainly be wise.

I'd also suggest leaving the taps open slightly -- if they thaw on their own, watch very carefully for any signs of a leak as if you did get a break the symptom won't show up until they thaw out. If it begins running, leave them cracked open slightly while it is so cold to prevent the freeze up again occurring and if you can't figure out where the problem might be and how to solve it w/ insulation or whatever, you really should call in a plumber to solve it so it won't happen in the future and cause a major problem.

Story/example -- person before us in TN finished laundry area in the garage. Previously, the supply pipes ot the washer ran inside the wall. For neatness, they re-routed them through the exterior wall and insulated. Very nice, attractive room, good job. First winter we were in the house, had a real cold snap and those lines froze solid and broke, causing a great deal of problems. In fixing, discovered they had insulated but after the pipes were in place and place the insulation on the inside, effectively ensuring as little heat got to them as possible.

Reply to
dpb

Thanks a lot!

Actually

  1. Neither the cold nor the hot water comes out from the facet.
  2. The weather has been cold for a couple of days
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    I am not sure if that is cold enough since we are not very cold here in Bellevue, WA.
  3. I have been in this house for only 2.5 months, and this is the first time I had a situation like this.
  4. Do I need to call a plumbing service right away to prevent potential burst of the pipeline? Rightnow we got very good sunshine and I am not sure if I should wait for a while.
  5. BTW, does the water pipeline usually goes outside of the house or inside the house? I saw some pipelines outside of my house but I don't know if they are water pipelines. Sorry I am pretty ignorant about this.

Thanks a lot!

dpb wrote:

Reply to
Hilbert

It may be that the kitchen wall plumbing gets cold enough to freeze and block the flow of water.

If you can insulate the supply pipes that might help; or, you could leave a small ( e.g 40 watt lamp ) lit under the sink to keep the pipes from freezing.

Reply to
barbarow

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but I am not sure if that is cold enough since we are not very cold

I just looked at your weather. You have a forecast low of 18 that sure can freeze any exposed pipes. If you are above freezing watch for leaks as the pipes thaw out. Can you tell where the lines for the kitchen come from? If they are outside they most likely froze.

If the lines thaw out today and are not leaking you better keep them dripping a bit to keep them from freezing again. And maybe wrap something around any exposed pipes.

Reply to
Rich256

Clogged filter will do that.

Reply to
HeyBub

If you're new in the home and if it happens to be a new home a clog in that fixture could very well be the problem. I had to replace my kitchen fixture within a few months after I moved in to my new home because some excess plumbers putty had clogged the inside. It does happen.

Reply to
Jay Stootzmann

"Jay Stootzmann" wrote in news:urudnTBg3ZhGePHYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@insightbb.com:

IMHO, there's no way this should happen! Hope you went after who ever installed the fixtures......just out of curiosity, how did you find out it's plummer's putty?

Reply to
propman

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but I am not sure if that is cold enough since we are not very cold

There is not very much a plumber can do once the pipes are frozen. It is not very likely that your pipes will burst so don't worry too much. Just be alert. Do make sure that you know where the shut off valves are, so if a leak does occur you can quick shut off the water at a point before the leak. Then call the plumber.

Reply to
Marilyn & Bob

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