LOUISVILLE, Ky. — People plagued by burst pipes following inclement winter weather are scrambling to deal with the issues. In Kentuckiana, plumbers are getting calls around the clock.
Pipes can cause extensive damage anywhere, so WHAS11 checked in with experts to see how homes can be problem-free in the winter.
"We have had no heat calls, people with no heat. We've had people with no electricity, lots of frozen pipes, lots of burst pipes," PJ Hardin, director of training at Tom Drexler Plumbing, said.
With all of these calls, they have to triage as best as they can. Hardin's advice - get those annual checkups to prevent any damages.
"The best thing to do is prevent air from getting in the home as much as possible," Hardin said. "Crawl spaces are tough, so if you've got open vents around the inside of your crawl spaces, seal those off for the winter."
With the temperature changing drastically around this winter time it's best to make sure nothing is covering the vents.
"We want to make sure the vents are open especially with freezes and heavy snow so you want to make sure there's no carbon monoxide," Hardin said.
If people don't have a carbon monoxide detector, it's best to get one now.
"As far as temperatures in the home, as long as it's above freezing it's fine," he said.
The biggest thing for plumbing is to know where your home's water main shutoff valve is located so it can be easily accessed in the event of an emergency.
"Where you can get to that main shutoff valve if there is an emergency to shut that thing off that's going to save you potentially thousands of dollars," said PJ.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.