Need some info about freeze proofing ...

My family is going to come down for a month long visit and will be leaving the house in Missouri empty for that time. We plan on shutting off the water supply to the house and using the air compressor to blow out the lines but what should I do for the p-traps in the sinks and toilets ???

I am thinking that I need to keep something in them to prevent the sewer gasses from coming out but don't want the water to freeze and do any damage.

This place is wood heat only so I can't leave the thermostat set on low.

I have heard of people pouring antifreeze in there. I get my drinking water from a well and I don't think I want that stuff in my water supply later, though .

Any ideas ???
PISTOL

 

check with some rv dealers they have a product made espesally for that use

 

R.V. antifreeze (pink stuff). You can get it anywhere, and just pour some in your drains. How is your well set up? Deep, shallow, well house? You can use heat tape, and or a light bulb depending on how it's set up, so you don't lose your prime.

 

Wow ... that was fast !!!!

I don't have to worry about the well house since my neighbor is also supplied by it and will be using it daily. To be honest ... I don't know how deep the well is. It is quite a ways from the house. I may not have to worry too much about the small amount of antifreeze once it filters through the ground ... I just don't like doing it if I can help it.

The RV type stuff might do ok ... if it doesn't kill all the little critters that live in the septic tank and help decompose the .... well, you know .

Thanks for the idea ...

PISTOL

 

They have the same kind of stuff at Home Depot and the like. Plumbing anti-freeze, specially for that purpose.

 

I used to own a house in Ryegate Montana that was only used about once every other summer. I used the RV stuff in the traps. Would have the neighbors dump in a little bit every now an then in case it evaporated. Never had a problem with the septic from it.

Wish I still had it, would be nice to get back that direction.

Ed

 

Yeah, read the container, I'll try to look at mine tomorrow. How much do you trust your neighbor? You might be able to put a trouble light under each fixture, a bulb can keep things toasty. Have a neighbor check every couple days to make sure it doesn't go out or cause other problems. We have jet pumps at the hous and the cabin. The light works good in a confined area. You need tape for the supply lines.

 

RV anti freeze in the p-traps and in the toilets. Make sure all valves and hydrants are open, drain water heater. Blowing air through the lines is a good idea.

 

Just use the RV antifreeze. You won't use enough antifreeze to cause any problems to your septic tank. After all, a person is supposed to be able to drink it without any harmful effects. As far as blowing the lines out, I used to pull the T&P valve out of the water heater and hook up my compressor there. That way you can also empty the heater quicker too.
Tom

 

Tom,
T & P valve .... not sure I know what that is, are you talking about the pressure relief valve on the side of the heater ??

I will have the wife stop at Home Depot ... thanks for the tip.

As for trusting my neighbor with the house ... . He is the guy that we bought the place from and I am sure he knows enough about the house but I don't know him well enough yet.

Thanks for the quick responses ... the wife now has her marching orders !!!

PISTOL

 

A trick we used to use on a cabin that would set for long periods for sometimes two or more seasons, is blow the lines out and add vegetable oil to the ptraps as the oil would not evaporate like water does, the rv anitfreeze would work for a winter I am sure, the oil would last who knows how long ?? Goodluck,,Rick

 

Wally Mart even has the RV anti freeze. When I lived in SoCal, My folks would visit for 3 months sometimes. They just set the thermostat in their Michigan house at 55 and never had any issues.

 

Yep Pistol, the T&P valve is just that. Temperature and pressure relief valve. They are a standard 3/4" pipe thread. just get an adapter to work with your air compressor, put a tee in it and screw a gage onto the tee and use reducing coupling and a 3/4" nipple to screw into the tank. You normally don't need to go over about 50 psi either.
Tom
P.S. Most compressors like you would probably use have 1/4" pipe fittings on the hoses.

 

I don't think you would use enough anti-freeze to harm anything. Usually when somebody on a well has a problem w/ bacteria inside the well they just open up the casing and pour a whole gallon of bleach down it to kill all the nasties. If a whole gallon of bleach poured directly into the well doesn't do any harm, I don't see how less than a gallon of anti-freeze leeched through the ground would hurt anything. Anti-freeze is mostly ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, which is just a complex sugar-alcohol.

 

id use as little air pressure as possible on the water heater. also dont forget to throw the breaker if it electric or shut the gas off. if the gas is on and you dump cold water back into a hot emty tank youll have a bomb!