COLUMBIA -- The recent frigid temperatures have local plumbers working overtime as they deal with frozen pipes.
During extreme cold weather, some interior water pipes need special care to keep them from freezing. That’s what happened to Christy Scheppers and her dog Apollo.
“The water just wouldn’t turn on," Scheppers said. "I didn’t have a mess, yet. I’m hoping that it doesn’t turn into one.”
According to State Farm Insurance, this same problem happens to more 250,000 American homeowners every year.
With temperatures and wind chills below zero this week, plumbers like Josh Luebbering expect more pipes to freeze.
You can prevent frozen pipes by:
- Running a small trickle of hot and cold water from your faucets. Running water does not freeze.
- Open the cabinet doors under your sink to expose your pipes to warmer air.
- Make sure you know the location of your main water shut-off valve.
- Finally, wrap your pipes in insulation or heat tape with help from a professional.
“I recommend having a plumber do it," Luebbering said. "That way you make sure you get it on there correctly and everything is bonded to the piping correctly so that you seal both ends up. There is no electricity that can spark and cause a fire.”
In some cases, heat tape doesn’t help. In those extreme cases, plumbers have, what they call, a pipe thawing machine.
It looks like a car battery and sends an electric current through the copper pipes and melts the ice inside. If you notice a decrease in water pressure or no water at all, you could have pipes filled with ice that are on the brink of bursting.
Luebbering recommends that you check your homeowner's insurance policy to see if it covers the cost of frozen pipes.
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