SEATTLE — It’s been a tumultuous week for plumbers and plumbing companies across Western Washington.
“But we have definitely seen more calls this year than we did in years past, that’s for sure,” Jordan Forbes with Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing said.
Forbes also told KIRO 7 they usually get 150 calls a week and about eight to 12 calls on weekends. The past week? He said they’ve doubled.
“Just in the plumbing department alone, we’ve received 500 calls since Monday,” Forbes said.
KIRO 7 has reported on numerous burst pipe incidents from Sea-Tac International Airport to a busted pipe in the fire sprinkler system at Seattle University’s Hopkins Building; nine students were displaced because of it. A spokesperson with the university said those nine students could return to their rooms in a week or so, as of Friday. Second year student Abby Graham recalled the initial moments when the pipe burst.
“It like broke through right where the staircase was,” she said. “And then it flooded into the laundry room and obviously out the Murphy Lounge doors.”
Therese Chamberlin, another second-year at Seattle U, said she knows of someone who was displaced by the pipe bursting.
“But I know that a lot of my friends will probably be like really concerned about their friends obviously,” Chamberlin said.
But with the temperatures rising above freezing, plumbing issues aren’t out of the woods just yet. Forbes said not only do they continue to get calls about burst pipes and leaks, he worries the problem will continue once some pipes thaw out.
“It is still a concern and as of right now, still getting phone calls about burst pipes,” Forbes said.
Forbes said the best thing to do to avoid pipes bursting is to let your faucet drip during freezing weather. He also advises people open their cabinet doors where plumbing is and to make sure your crawl space vents are sealed up.
“Moving water does not like to freeze nearly as easy,” Forbes said.
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