MISSION, Kan. — After freezing temperatures hit the Kansas City area, people across the metro are dealing with frozen pipes.
Sarah Leslie said she’s had frozen pipes since Monday that still haven’t thawed out.
“We did all the things you were supposed to do, leave the water dripping, flushing toilets but with temperatures like this lasting as long as they have, sometimes you can’t avoid it from happening,” she said.
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Plumbers with the Local 8 Plumbers and Gasfitters Union say that their members are extremely busy.
“It’s been nonstop for our service plumbers I mean these guys are working 80, 90 hours a week,” Matthew Harris said, a business agent with the union.
Geary Lesh, an organizer at the union asked people who are waiting to “be patient, once it warms up guys will be able to take care of everything a little bit better.”
They say that a lot of calls they have seen come from similar issues.
“If there’s a crack on the outside of your house and the wind’s blowing, that wind is going in there and it’s creating an ice box is all it’s doing,” Lesh said.
He also mentioned that water lines can run through the garage and if “garages aren’t heated and you raise your garage door, it drops the temperature in your garage 10 degrees.
So what can you do if your pipes are frozen?
Matthew and Geary said to immediately get heat to the area.
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“Something as simple as opening a cabinet up and allowing that warm air to get in there or that breeze to get out, that might just remedy your problem right there,” Harris said.
They said using a space heater, heat gun or hair dryer can help bring those pipes back up to temperature.
They cautioned against fire hazards such as using open flames on your pipes or leaving space heaters unattended.
Finally, they said that if you’re leaving for an extended period of time during freezing temperatures, to shut off water from your home and then drain your pipes by turning on the faucets on the lowest floor until no more water comes out.
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