MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More and more stories of pipes bursting are popping up as the frigid weather continues in the Mid-South.
It can be a major mess to clean up and expensive to repair.
Taylor Boyd said a strange noise in her apartment took her by surprise Tuesday afternoon.
“It sounded like somebody was taking a shower,” she said. “It really sounded like it was hitting a wall or something.”
She said she then found a pipe that burst, causing water to go everywhere in her apartment that she shares with her young children at the Arbors of Hickory Ridge.
“Everything is ruined,” she said. “My furniture is ruined.”
Unfortunately, she’s not alone.
Employees at Greenway Home Services say they’ve already gotten many calls this week.
“We’re seeing a lot of broken pipes. We’re seeing a lot of leaks,” said Barney Bienz, Greenway Home Services HVAC manager.
With temperatures still below freezing, he thinks more people will be calling with leaks when it gets warmer later this week.
“Right now, a lot of these pipes are still frozen. Homeowners don’t know that their pipes are broken because the freezing water is keeping the liquid water from coming out,” Bienz said.
The biggest contributor is people not having insulated pipes or covering their outside faucet.
Bienz said a simple cap to put on your outside faucet is just a few dollars at most hardware stores. You can also wrap a rag or towel around your outside faucet and be sure to take off any hoses.
As for inside the home, he recommends making sure no pipes are exposed. Leave cabinets open inside the home as well to help keep pipes from freezing.
“A lot of older homes are not insulated well. Through the years, the insulation tends to break down or gets torn off for one reason or another,” said Bienz.
Boyd doesn’t know what went wrong at her apartment yet, but she hopes the mess gets cleaned up soon.
