The Tukwila plumbing company said they received about 20 calls each hour for frozen pipes across western Washington.
TUKWILA, Wash. — Plumbers across the sound said they are busier than ever dealing with frozen and broken pipes.
Phones are ringing off the hook, at a small Tukwila plumbing company, trying to keep up with the demand.
Ken Kalliainen is the general manager of Aqualine. They’ve been answering a lot more calls than usual during this cold snap.
“Phones have absolutely exploded,” Kallianinen said. “It’s been absolutely nuts, a lot of people are suffering right now.”
Over the past week plumbing companies like his have been working long hours, dealing with the first extreme cold stretch of the season. Causing a lot of problems for homeowners.
“We had 300 to 400 calls came in over the weekend,” Kalliainen said. “Probably about seven crews out there right now, some HVAC crews, electrical crews out doing some things that pop up when the weather’s bad. We got a whole bunch of people out there, doing all they can.”
Kalliainen said his crews are working as far south as Olympia and as far north as Marysville. They’re working to solve the problems Mother Nature can bring.
“Pipes bursting, water coming through ceilings, through walls, spewing in the garage depending on where the pipe was,” Kalliainen said.
So what can you do to prevent something like this from happening to your home?
“Put some heaters in your garage or crawl space,” Kalliainen said. “You can let the water drip, through the lines, you’re going to want to make sure you also have the outdoor spigots, put those Styrofoam covers on. It’s too late to prevent it now, but now you have tips for next time and we’ll be out there as soon as we can.”
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