BENTONVILLE, Ark. — While many people have been off work and out of school the last few days due to weather, plumbers haven't had that luxury as they've been going from house to house fixing pipes that have been frozen.
One local plumber that spoke to 5NEWS says that they don't expect business to slow down any time soon.
Matt Gifford, owner of It’s Plumbing, said “It's been a little crazy. The cold weather is obviously frozen a lot of pipes, whether it's the incoming water lines or the drain lines, it's been a little crazy, not as crazy as I think the next few days are going to be when things start to thaw out. That's when we really noticed the brakes and the pipes.”
When dealing with frozen pipes there isn't much a plumber can do until the pipes thaw out, but there are a few ways for you to see if your pipes have been frozen.
“What I would listen for is a hissing noise, or obviously, maybe a low pressure in your waterline. Those are probably the two key things that I would say listen for. If you hear hissing, it's probably a burst pipe. If you feel like when you turn on a faucet or even the shower, and the pressure seems a lot lower than normal, you're probably dumping water somewhere else," Gifford said.
There aren't any ways of totally preventing it from happening, but there are ways of lessening your chances.
“The only way to really prevent most of that and it's not foolproof is to open up the cabinet doors, let heat get in there, let your water run a little bit, let it drip. Get that water moving a little bit," Gifford added.
When a pipe freezes, the water in the pipes expands causing cracks in the pipes. If you see a crack, it's a sign to call a plumber as soon as possible.
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