Several days of below-freezing temperatures have done a number to water pipes across the area but the break in the cold could cause even more problems with pipes.
“You think everything is fine but that quick snap of cold goes into warm and people think it’s all good but it’s actually not,” Jordan Schwanz with Harbor City Plumbing in Port Washington said.
Schwanz says his company has dealt with about a dozen burst pipe calls this week. He’s anticipating that number will jump with the temperatures rising above freezing in the coming days.
“People just deal with the frozen pipe and don’t deal with the plumbing,” Schwanz said. “It will have a hole or a slit in it and it will break, burst and the problem starts.”
While Schwanz mainly deals with residential issues, Mother Nature’s wrath does not discriminate.
“Came in and found out that the basement was starting to get flooded,” Omar Shaikh, Owner of Carnevor Steakhouse said.
Shaikh learned of the water pipe issue Tuesday. At least six pipes had small slits in them that caused large leaks. It took crews almost a full day to fully repair the issue, forcing the restaurant to close its doors for a day.
“It’s just bitter cold,” Shaikh said. “Infrastructure wise, a lot of the pipes broke. We just had to run all new pipes. It’s an old building.”
“It can be a huge loss,” Schwanz said. “If something breaks and water bursts and floods, it’s thousands and thousands of dollars, insurance claims and you could be out of your house for who knows, months on end.”
Schwanz says in his two decades of experience, he’s seen the gamut of burst pipe issues.
“I’ve seen quick repairs with one coupling and you’re in and out,” he said. “I’ve also seen it where you spend the whole day there, going on and on. They’re very time involved. You think you got one leak and it goes until you have dozens of leaks. It depends how long it’s been frozen.”
He says, there are some quick tips to try and prevent a big problem. First, he says find where your shutoff valve is to prevent a minor inconvenience from turning into a massive problem.
“Locate the shutoff valve and shut it off now,” Schwanz said. “When it does thaw out, slowly crack it and listen for leaks, look for leaks. Don’t leave your house until you’re sure there are no leaks.”
If you have frozen pipes, Schwanz says open up the cabinet doors for a particular fixture to help get some heat from the home onto the pipes. Otherwise, he says use something like a hair dryer, not something with an open flame, to help defrost the problem pipe.
But ultimately, the best way to avoid frozen pipes is through prevention.
“It’s preventable,” Schwanz said. “Just got to take some time and find those drafts when it’s not below zero and not two feet of snow outside. You have to do research beforehand and find the pockets and holes.”
Addressing drafty parts of a house and better insulating areas where the pipes are can help prevent the problem from happening. But if you’re headed out of town, make sure to take precautions if you’re unsure of how cold the temperature could get.
“Turn the water off to your house but don’t turn the heat down to 40 or 50 degrees,” Schwanz said. “I always think in that 55 to 60 level is just right. If your power goes out and your heat is at 55 to 60, it will take longer to drop.”
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