Plumbers see more frozen pipes in unconditioned spaces amid intense cold snap
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Some Mid-Missouri plumbers are seeing more frozen pipes in unconditioned spaces than usual.
MasterTech Plumbing, Heating and Cooling in Columbia says it received about 80 emergency overnight calls through the weekend — about double what they would typically — and continued to respond to calls for frozen pipes on Monday.
“Unconditioned spaces are the big issue we’ve seen because it doesn’t always stay this cold for so long,” manager Nate Duker said.
After 5-9 inches of snow blanketed Mid-Missouri throughout the weekend, the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team tracked wind chills as cold as minus 30° Monday morning. That dangerous cold can freeze your pipes in just six hours.
“This is definitely the coldest it's been for the longest period of time so far this year. And so we just had a wave of people who have frozen pipes or burst pipes,” Duker said.
Plumbers are seeing pipes freeze in poorly-insulated areas like crawl spaces and garages.
“We view that [frozen pipes] as an emergency when people don’t have access to water” Duker said.
If pipes freeze, he said to be careful while trying to unthaw them.
"Definitely know where your main water shut off is or where a shut off is to the pipes that you're warming up because you could be kind of inducing a leak," Duker said. "There's a chance that they've already burst and that just the frozen water is blocking the pipe from actively leaking.”
And even if it seems no pipes inside the home have frozen, there could be a big problem waiting in the spring. Duker said people may not be aware of a leak until the weather warms up, especially with outdoor spigots. A quick test could help determine if a spigot's pipe has sprung a leak.
“What you want to do is you can have just a very slow dribble of water. It doesn't have to be much and you can put your thumb on it," Duker said.
If the water pressure builds up and sprays out between your finger and the spigot, that's a good thing, according to Duker.
"This means that the faucet is good or that there is not a hole in the faucet," Duker said.
If water is able to be held back with the thumb test, that means there must be a hole somewhere in the pipes. In that case, it should be shut off and a plumber should be called.
