SCRANTON -- With temperatures expected to fall this weekend, the consistent cold air could mean bad news for your water pipes.
The staff at Home Depot in Dickson City was stocking up on insulation.
Customers would rather pay now than deal with wet floors and expensive repairs.
“It’s easier to insulate than it is to thaw out frozen lines,” said John Lawlor of Clarks Summit.
With the upcoming extended cold period, Pennsylvania American Water urges homeowners to prepare their homes.
“You know if it’s an upstairs pipe in a bathroom, in a crawl space, it can drip down and damage two floors. If it’s in a basement, it depends on where that pipe is and the amount of damage,” said Susan Turcmanovich, Pennsylvania American Water.
If the weather runs on a cold streak, Pennsylvania American Water recommends:
- open cabinet doors to expose pipes to warmer room temperatures
- allow a small trickle of water to run overnight to keep pipes from freezing.
“It keeps that line open and it keeps the water open so it’s moving and not going to freeze.”
Wayne Pisanchyn has been working in plumbing and heating for decades in Lackawanna County.
He’s dealt with countless frozen pipe situations and says a homeowner can sometimes spot the problem before it’s too late.
“Number one, if it froze before, it will freeze again, so we know that. And the other is, you monitor the temperature in the basement. Maybe buy one of those remote readers. If your basement is cold when you go downstairs, it’s probably even colder where the pipes are,” Pisanchyn said.
Better to insulate now then having no water and a hefty bill later.