Hi again.

I need to put a washer and dryer outside in an unheated space in North Carolina. Temperatures occasionally drop below freezing. How can I protect the washer from freezing? Is heat tape on the water supply and discharge sufficient? Do I need to protect the drum or pipes inside the washer?

Also, is Pex a good choice for supply lines? I understand freezing water will not rupture Pex.

Thanks,

Glenn

speedball1

Good morning Glen, Nice to see you again. You have just outlined one of the major reasons my family moved to Florida from Wisconsin over 50 years ago.
I can't come up with anything that would protect your washer from freezing tempertures. Your washer has a sump that holds water after the washer emptys. This water will freeze into a solid block of ice blocking the discharge outlet. However you could insulate the unheated room and pipe heat into it to keep the cold out. You're asking the wrong guy about freezing problems. Perhaps Labman could come up with a better solution. Regards, Tom

Glenn

Tom,

You and Labman have been a great help, I appreciate your responsiveness and expertise. We are in the process of moving from Virginia to the Outer Banks in NC, and notice a milder climate even with that short move.

Would the freezing damage the washer, or just plug the discharge? I could wait until the ice melted if there was no permanent damage.

What about wrapping the sump inside the washer with heat tape? I have some that would turn on at 38 degrees F.

Just thinking out loud.

Glenn

labman

Tom is right about Labman living where washers freeze up. When we bought the house, the furnace, hot water heater and laundry were in the garage. Things did freeze up now and then. Only mild winters have saved me since I ripped the furnace out and installed a new one in the crawl space in 1995. I have let the washer freeze up entirely too many times. I think I did have to replace a pump once. The washer always seems to freeze up when the dirty clothes hamper is full. I have insulated the garage, water lines and washer cabinet and embedded the water fixtures in foam. I installed a light bulb in the washer and a switch. That works fairly well, except the bulb gets broken or the switch keeps going bad. Maybe I will go to a heating tape and run the cord out to a plug.

Another thing you could look at is fining the lowest point water stands and add a drain. Maybe nothing complicated just a rubber hose running out to a shut off or stopper.

One more thought. Usually we don't have problems until it gets down near 0 and is windy for several days. Tighten up the space the best you can. See how it goes this year.