Inaugural Rentals Gone Wrong, Frozen Pipe Edition

For a brief moment in mid November, my roommates and I pondered renting out our house for the inauguration. A few half-hearted e-mails later, we dropped the subject and never posted anything on Craigslist. Good move. This morning, we encountered a terrible, totally unpredictable problem: Our pipes are frozen, and we have no water. Seems the downstairs neighbors moved out earlier this week, and lowered the heat significantly, thus causing the blockage. 

Normally, I would not be sharing such mundane details about my house's plumbing. But it occurs to me that perhaps others, who are readying their homes for guests (paying and non-paying) are encountering similar issues. If so, I—clearly—feel your pain. 

Image by Grant MacDonald, Flickr Creative Commons