ALLEN COUNTY, OH - Following this past weekend's severe winter weather, area professionals saw a higher-than-usual need for heating and plumbing services.
With temperatures far below freezing, many homeowners had to deal with frozen water lines. Issues were caused in part by the extremely cold winds finding their way into homes and water lines. While we may be warming up now, winter is just getting started. Next time the temperatures dip to severe lows, experts recommend opening sink cabinet doors and turning on faucets to a pencil-thick stream to protect your pipes. Never use an open flame to try to thaw pipes.
"If you can at all find your main shut off and get that water turned off, obviously to stop the leak. Once you shut that off, and then what you're going to do is reach out to a professional here in the industry and see if we can either thaw that line or get that repair made," recommends Brian Brown, part owner of Brown's Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical.
HVAC professionals were also flooded with service calls from residents who had no heat over the weekend. Experts have some tips for making sure your home stays warm the next time we see a deep freeze.
"Make sure those PVC pipes are clear from any obstruction, that being the snow or with those extreme temperatures the frost that would get inside of those. Make sure they're clear of that. Of course, you always want to make sure you have some kind of a secondary backup, heat or secondary power," says Bob Hare, President of Quality Mechanical Services.
It's also important to have a clean filter in your furnace to keep it working. And if your heat does go out, professionals recommend turning the thermostat off for a few minutes and turning it back on, as it may just need a reboot like a computer.
