DENVER — Tuesday's warmer temperatures are shifting the kind of calls plumbing companies are getting. Denver endured 93 hours below freezing. The frigid weather caused many pipes in homes and commercial businesses to freeze.
Families First at Shiloh House is one of those properties that were dealing with frozen pipes on Tuesday morning. The organization works to prevent abuse and neglect of children by providing education and family support. Their maintenance worker Nolan Smith walked in on Tuesday morning to find no water coming out of any of the faucets.
"That was my first hint we might be in trouble," he said. "There’s a heater pointing at the pipes, pipes are wrapped in insulation and they still froze so when it’s negative five it’s negative five."
For many plumbing companies the thaw after a extensive time of sub-zero temperatures is where the real work begins. Savannah Stewart is the owner of Drain Terrier, a local plumbing company. Stewart said her phone has been ringing nonstop.
"I had to turn my ringer off at about midnight just because people were calling nonstop last night and a little bit the night before but really last night and into the morning it's been really crazy," she said. "As we’re entering the warmer temperatures and the sun is coming out, all of those pipes are starting to thaw and either your pipes will – your water will run smoothly or the frozen pipes they’ll thaw and going to cause leaks and floods."
At Shiloh House, the pipes were able to thaw enough for water to begin to run again but Stewart stresses people should still remain vigilant.
"Some issues will resolve on their own but then we have to watch out for the other side when the pipes are freezing and expanding and then they come back to size, that's when you start to see some of the leaks so you need to start to watch out for that as well," she explained. "This entire week we’re trying our best to take care of people and prevent as much damage as much as we can so that basically our customers are not having to deal with leaks and floods and damage to their homes."
The number one thing Stewart said every homeowner should know is find out where your shut off valve is. Far too many times pipes burst and the owner does not know how to make it stop, Stewart said.
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