Seeking Pro Tips: Battling Annual Pipe Freezing in Chicago

[David Tang]

Recently purchased a two-flat with a garden unit in Chicago back in 2023. Key renovations included running new water lines & HVAC for in-unit washer/dryer for the 1st and 2nd floor's enclosed back porch. The water lines & water disposal lines goes out the basement's laundry room through the basement back porch (that is not insulated nor heated), then up to the 1st & 2nd floor to feed the washer/dryer units.

The Challenge:
Due to Chicago's recent extreme winter conditions, this has caused the water line/water disposal line for the 1st & 2nd floor washer/dryer to freeze annually. First two winters, it was the copper water pipes that froze which caused the washer to not work as no water goes able to be fed into the washing machine. We addressed this by opening up the 1st & 2nd floor dry wall to add a bit more insulation between the wall & the pipes, we added a heat strip with a sensor to tell it when to turn on, & added insulation around the pipes itself. We also insulated & installed heat strips with a sensor to the originally exposed copper pipes in the basement's back porch area. This winter, new issues with the washer's water disposal pipe freezing came up which caused the water to back up into the 1st floor's laundry room & seeped down to the basement back porch area. 

Long-Term Objective:
Our goal is to achieve passive investment, but this annual maintenance is a barrier.

Seeking Suggestions:
Experienced Chicagoland investors - what are your recommended solutions for permanently preventing the water disposal line freezing & potentially new issues from rising in these unforgiving winters? 

[Eudith Vacio]

Hey @David Tang 

Yeah, this is a common issue for all of us! You have to find a way to keep that area heated - I've added electric baseboard heaters to my smaller spaces where running ducts might be more difficult. That, or you have to run space heaters / add ducts!

The electric baseboards are easy because you can just run a line to panel without really having to break anything.