LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – From a sprung leak that flooded Lansing City Hall, to burst pipes in Mid-Michigan homes, no place is excused from the pesky side effects of winter weather.
“Furnaces not running is high right now, or not keeping up, working extra hard in these cold temps,” said The Meridian Company Operations Manager Kurt Knisely. “And then of course frozen pipes.”
Emergency plumbing calls are picking up at The Meridian Company in the aftermath of a winter storm that swept through Mid-Michigan, followed by almost a week of negative wind chills.
With 20 years of plumbing experience under his tool belt, Chris Tipps said he and his Meridian Company crew typically spend the winter season responding to issues like burst pipes and frozen sub pump discharge lines. Before more snow and ice blow through, Tipps said now is the time to prepare.
“Make sure those crawl spaces have heat in them, furnace filters are changed every 30 days, so the furnace doesn’t shut off, keep your faucet at a steady drip so the pipes don’t freeze,” he said.
Burst pipes are also bringing business to Vet’s Ace Hardware in Lansing, where third-generation owner Shane Perdue is helping customers stock up on what they need to prevent disaster.
“With this storm that’s just come in, we’ve been selling salt, we’ve been selling shovels, and now, the pipes are bursting,” Perdue said.
If customers are looking to prep their pipes for a cold snap, Perdue recommends picking up pipe insulation and heat tape to prevent a freeze. He said space heaters are also an option for warming places in the home that usually run cold, like a crawl space.
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