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Expert Offers Advice To Prevent Pipes From Freezing

PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - Americans across the country woke up to a bitter cold that many haven't experienced before. Numerous homes were not equipped and prepared for these cold temperatures, which has left many with burst or frozen pipes.

These extreme cold temperatures have brought nothing but problems since they've started. From frozen pipes, to broken heaters and homes that just can't get warm, people are suffering. Now's the time to get the help you need.

Bob Tudi: Water Flow Keeps Your Pipes Warm

CEO and Owner of Tudi Mechanical Systems in Pittsburgh, Bob Tudi, took to the airwaves to bring KDKA Radio listeners some helpful advice to unfreeze and re-heat your frozen home.

"If your pipes are frozen already, there are ways to unfreeze them without calling a plumber," said Tudi. "You can take a hair dryer to the pipe at a high speed to thaw it. But remember if the pipe is frozen, it won't leak."

He recommends keeping a bucket and towel handy while thawing your pipes in case of excess water releasing from the pipe. There's also another tool he suggests you pick up - a paint scraper.

Tudi said that the professionals use the paint scraper on the pipes because they're like "hair dryers on steroids."

Sometimes he says they will connect electrodes to one side and the other to the pipe and send currents through it to warm it up. He said that regular home owners should leave that method to the professionals.

Bob Tudi: How To Warm Your House

"If you can keep your home warmer, that's going to be key," Tudi said.

Keeping your home warm starts with your furnace. Tudi highly recommends keeping up with the maintenance to keep the furnace running at its best.

"The biggest issue I see is that people aren't minding that air filter. So that air filter that's on the inside of that furnace, that's going to give us an indication of how much energy that furnace can put into that home. Because if it's dirty, it will act as a restrictor," Tudi said.

However, what can you do if your furnace stops working? Due to the weather, it is likely that a repairman might not be able to immediately get to your home. So, what can you do in the interim?

"Get some pots of water, put them on the stove and start cooking some water. Be careful with that, you don't want to run the pot out of water, but you can get some heat into your home," Tudi said.

Finally he recommends you keep a faucet running at a decent flow throughout the day because it's harder to freeze moving water. Put the water at a balanced temperature between both lines to keep both warm.

Also, it's not a bad idea to open your cabinet doors to keep everything warm.

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