As plumbers see rise in maintenance calls, experts share tips for frozen pipes

JACKSON, Tenn. – One of the most dreadful cold weather catastrophes is when pipes freeze or worse yet, burst.

Local plumbers have seen an increase in calls since the cold weather came in.

“We’ve seen probably about a 40-50% uptick in frozen pipes,” said Lanier English, the Corporate Operations Officer for McCoy’s Heating and Air.

The easiest way to tell if your pipes are frozen is if no water comes out of your faucet.

There is a possibility that you may have cold water but do not have hot water because of two different water lines.

“Now what we recommend is to run both the hot water and the cold water at night. Don’t just drip outer cold water, drip them both,” English said.

Experts say if it is below freezing outside you want to increase your water from a drip to a small stream of water running.

Some ways to heat your pipes if they do freeze are to open cabinets or place a space heater in the area where the frozen pipes are located.

In more serious cases, sometimes pipes will burst.

“What I would recommend to everybody is to be able to locate the water cut-off. It is, most of the time, out in the yard out by the street,” English said.

Experts are asking people to be patient while waiting for maintenance.

“We just ask everybody to bear with every service company. Some employees can’t even get into work. We’re using the ones that can get to work, and we’re getting to everybody we can,” English said.

“If you have any questions about what to do if this happens to you, make sure to contact your local plumber and your insurance provider.

Experts say the pipes most at risk are those in unheated spaces.

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