Message Board / Tips and Tricks 

At this time I would like to mention that Gerken Plumbing and Heating has brought on two new employees to assist in all phases of plumbing repairs that we handle. Welcome aboard Jimmy and Matt.

Tips To Prevent Freezing Pipes

During the last few days I have received a couple of calls regarding freezing pipes and I believe the worst of this storm / cold snap will happen this Friday and Saturday where the overnight temperatures are going to be in single digits, approaching 0 degrees.

The ultra-cold weather combined with high winds can penetrate further into walls and freeze pipes if people are not careful.

Turn the heat up a couple of degrees in the house and set it to “hold”. This way the thermostat will not lower the temperature at night. In kitchens and bathrooms where the plumbing is located on an exterior wall, leave vanity doors under the sinks open at night. The circulating air helps the pipes stay warmer. For example, if you have a window over your kitchen sink or bathroom vanity, you likely have water supply pipes in the exterior wall. These pipes will be susceptible to freezing.

Let susceptible faucets run with a thin stream of warm water. Slightly running water freezes slower than than still water. As with kitchen or vanities with supplies in exterior walls, if your shower or bath has faucets on the exterior wall of your house, the supplies to these faucets will also be in the exterior walls. These faucets are perfect candidates for this strategy. 

Please stay warm, keep your house warm, and know where your water main shut off is.

So it happens to all of us even me. I had brand new Cesspools put in around 2000. I just had the main pool pump a month ago, for no reason just to finally get it emptied again. Some family members live in my apartment and don't tell me that my toilet is running. So the end of this weekend we spent with 2 full cesspools and no one to pump them out. And all it takes is a quite simple and easy test. Everyone out there just put one drop of food coloring in your toilet tank water, come back 15 minutes later, and if your toilet bowl water is that color you have a leaking toilet. Then you need to call a plumber to fix the toilet. That we'll be far cheaper then having your Cesspool pumped, and it also saves a lot of water. 

When its this cold out at night and the wind is blowing, turn up your heat. its far cheaper to walk around in shorts, think of the alternative, frozen pipes, ceiling falling down, and nasty water damaging your house and belongings, 

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR WATER MAIN VALVE IS??? 

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