BRISTOL, Va. – Becky Heath was worried when her mother heard the sound of gushing water under the bathroom floor of her Island Road home Thursday night. She had a good reason to be concerned.
"Water was gushing out from all over the house," Heath said, recalling what happened when she walked around the house to check for the problem. "I didn’t know what in the world had happened."
An exposed pipe to the bathroom sink froze solid during the cold snap that plagued the region earlier this week and cracked the pipe, which began leaking when the temperatures rose Thursday afternoon.
Heath called BVU to come and shut off the water. She then called Mr. Rooter Plumbing, which sent Jason Allen to fix the problem.
Mr. Rooter Plumbing dispatches plumbers to any location within a 300-mile radius of its Piney Flats, Tenn., office.
Allen said the company must have received 20-30 calls from customers needing help with frozen pipes on Thursday.
"This time of year gets busy," said Allen, who answered five service calls, including the Heath’s, on Thursday. "I’ve been out all over the place."
Allen showed up at Heath’s house about 9 p.m. Thursday and placed a quick patch on the pipes designed to slow the leak until he could get parts to fix it. He and his cousin, Roger Allen, spent two hours finishing the repair Friday afternoon. The company charges about $500 to fix broken pipes, depending on the difficulty of the job.
"Most of the problem happens when pipes are exposed to the elements," said Allen, who recommends tightly wrapping exposed pipes with insulation to prevent them from freezing in the future.
He also suggests that homeowners inspect their plumbing system to make sure everything is in working order before cold weather, and any exposed areas under their house should be sealed off.
Beyond those measures, people can’t do much more.
"It’s always going to get cold," Allen said.
gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518
Here are some tips to help keep your pipes from freezing:
Apply electric heat tape to pipes when it is extremely cold.
Keep a small trickle of water running through the pipes.
Open cabinet doors so warm air can circulate under the sink and warm the pipes.
Drain outside water lines and learn the water main location so you can turn it off when pipes freeze
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement