Experts offer heating, plumbing advice

GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) - Area repairmen are busy in this cold weather thanks to freezing pipes and broken furnaces.

Furnaces have been working overtime to keep up with the dropping temperature. The owner of Price Heating and Cooling in Girard said they had more than 40 repair calls since Monday night and most of their workers were out all night.

To prevent costly repairs, make sure the furnace is serviced regularly and change the filters. Owner Chris McKernan said it's true that furnaces break down on the coldest day of the year because that's when they tend to run the longest.

"There is something wrong. The furnace isn't keeping up. It's just common to see because the furnaces are not sized for this weather. It's 10 below. Normally, we don't see that. Furnaces are struggling right now," McKernan said.

When it comes to plumbing, make sure pipes in unheated areas are insulated or wrapped in heat tape. In case of a burst pipe or to prevent plumbing from freezing up during a power outage, always know where the main shutoff valve is.

"If your pipes aren't exposed, it's always good to maybe, especially your kitchen with an outside wall, keep your doors open, that little bit of heat will serve it," said Al Sauline, area manager for Aqua Ohio.

When temperatures remain near 10 degrees, customers may want to leave a thin stream of water running from the tap farthest from the meter, which costs less than repairs.

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Experts offer heating, plumbing advice