Plumbers advice to protect your pipes from freezing temperatures
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Beginning at 8 p.m. Monday night, most of the Panhandle will be under a freeze warning until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
As the temperatures drop, local plumbing services advise residents to start covering all their backflow devices and outside faucets. You should cover any exposed exterior piping with insulation.
Whitehead Plumbing sells thermal blankets that retain heat to keep the brass from freezing. If you can't buy a covering, you can also use a pool noodle.
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'If they can find a pool noodle, it's the same material as the insulation that you can find at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, and you just basically put a slit in it. And wrap it and, you know, slide over your pipes,' Peaden Plumbing Install Supervisor Charlie Brown said.
Running water can also protect your pipes from freezing. You should run it a steady drip while temperatures are below freezing. And it should come from a faucet in the back of your home.
'If you're water meter's out front, go to the back of the house and start running the water because that will pull it all the way through,' Whitehead Plumbing Services Service Manager Trae Brown said.
Repairing a broken pipe can get expensive. In most cases, plumbers have to cut the pipes out and put new ones in.
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'If it's the backflow then we're going to have to come in and cut that expensive backflow out of those things, run about $700. So if you let it freeze and it's required, you're going to pay us to come out and put a new one and test it and send it into the city,' Brown said.
Whitehead Plumbing received over 100 service calls during the last major freeze. Along with damage costs, it can cause a hike in your water bill.
'Two years ago when we had the freeze, there were some people that were remote homeowners. They didn't realize for a month or so after the freeze that they had a broken waterline. Their water bill is going to be a considerable amount higher if the water's just running,' Brown said.
The county is shutting down some of their outdoor utilities until temperatures get back up. The restrooms at the M.B. Miller County Pier shut down at 4 pm Monday.
'We go out days ahead for it's going to be a freeze. We'll check the parks. We'll shut down. Water shut down, especially these outdoor showers out here on the beach,' Parks Division Manager Vincent Martin said.
Many local plumbers plan to have staff on-call during this week's freeze. So you may want to keep their number handy.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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