It's a cold winter with a lot of headaches.
Schuylkill County plumbers could not get to all the frozen and leaking pipes, broken furnaces and other domestic disasters caused by extreme temperatures Monday night into Tuesday. Meanwhile, residents seemed to heed warnings from doctors to stay inside as there were no reports of hypothermia. County schools were closed and auto suppliers are selling more batteries.
Household disasters
The uncommon temperatures can wreck havoc on water pipes and heating appliances.
Leonard Hamerly, Orwigsburg, said he learned about freezing pipes the hard way.
Upon entering his home about 7 a.m. Saturday, he found water leaking from a pipe in the kitchen.
"It looked like it was raining in here," he said.
The culprit was a broken hot water pipe, Hamerly said.
Insulation had not prevented freezing and the subsequent 3/4 inch split in the copper pipe, something he said never happen before in freezing temperatures.
After turning off water to the house, he did some research and fixed the problem with a fitting.
He estimated about 1/4 an inch of water was on first floor office floor and a bathroom after leaking from the kitchen above, which had little water.
There was about 1/4 an inch of water on the kitchen counters, Jeanne Hamerly said.
Tom Hlavaty, vice president of Hlavaty Plumb-Heat-Cool, Pine Grove, said they are very busy.
"We've been turning people down," he said, something they don't like to do.
The company has about seven technicians who are responding to no heat or heat and pipe issues.
Since the cold snap, he said, they went on hundreds of calls.
"When it gets so severe like this, your company can only be geared to handle so much work," he said.
Normally, they would respond to fewer than 20 calls during this time frame.
"This is obviously an extreme," he said.
Butch Young, operations director of Losch Plumbing and Heating Inc., Schuylkill Haven, said his company is also busy.
"Every one of our technicians were out to at least midnight last night," he said Tuesday.
Customers mostly called about frozen pipes and no heat.
"We had boilers that totally broke," he said.
Meanwhile, Hlavaty said property owners need to have heating equipment serviced and make sure pipes have adequate insulation. Moreover, they need to know where the water shut off valves are.
When discovering a leak, shutting off the water should be the first step. The second is to call someone with knowledge of plumbing, he said.
"You want to see if you can get on someone's list as soon as possible," Hlavaty said.
Preventative maintenance can't be stressed enough.
"It's just common sense," make sure you have everything insulated, Young said.
As painful as it could be financially, a boiler issue could be a positive thing.
"One of the best things that can happen to people is their boiler breaks," Hlavaty said, adding that the owner must then confront a problem that perhaps he had been delaying.
"It forces people to address situations and maybe do something better," he said.
Some systems are inefficient and old, he said.
Having a working smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector and even a combustible gas detector is something residents should not forget, Hlavaty said. A combustible gas detector checks for gas and propane.
Dan Perlman, owner of Flex Mechanical, Schuylkill Haven, also is dealing with a lot of phone calls.
"Most of them are no heat," he said Monday.
The calls ranged from oil furnace repairs, heat pumps, fireplaces and other forms of heating.
He also recommends heating systems be inspected before it gets too cold.
"Take care of your system," he said.
The American Red Cross made several suggestions to prevent and thaw frozen pipes.
Keeping kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors open can help to circulate air around the pipes. To help prevent pipes from freezing, let the water drip from faucets and keep the thermostat the same during the day and night.
In case of frozen pipes, do not use items such as a kerosene or propane heater, blowtorch or charcoal stove to heat the affected area. Using a blow dryer, portable space heater within distance, an electric heating pad or towels soaked in hot water is safer. Contact a plumber if needed.
Vehicle maintenance forestalls stalling
Furnaces and pipes aren't the only hardware having a hard time this week. The cold is not kind to the internal combustion engine either, as auto mechanics across the county know too well.
"When it gets cold like that, it's harder for cars to start because it takes more power and has an extra strain on the battery," customer consultant Gregory Sagan, 41, of Jack Williams Tire and Auto Service Center, Pottsville, said.
In the last few weeks, the service center has sold at least 12 or 13 batteries per week.
Along with batteries, mechanics are frequently checking antifreeze. When the vital fluid gets to a low level, the engine can seize or crack. Coolant is good for minus 34 degrees but if it is too diluted with water, it can freeze.
One of the managers at Ken's Tires Inc., Pottsville, Doug Howell, 42, suggested that vehicle owners get their antifreeze tested to prevent freezing. "If it does not test very good, get it drained," Howell said.
Howell said Ken's Tires does a lot of business in the winter, not only with batteries but with snow tires, as well.
"The snow comes and people realize they need snow tires, so they come to us," he said.
Sagan also sees a lot of ice-related problems in cars, like bent rims and damaged tires from pot holes and sliding into curbs as well as windshield wiper replacements.
Using windshield wipers to clear ice instead of scraping it can ruin the rubber on wipers and also damage the wiper motor.
"It's not supposed to move snow, it's for rain, but people are in a hurry when it's cold outside," Sagan said.
The best way to protect your car during the winter is with preventative maintenance.
"Make sure you have good tires, wipers and check the battery before it gets cold out," Sagan said. "We can't do anything about ice on the road, but you can prepare with early maintenance."
Howell said a key to keeping a vehicle in shape during the winter is to check the air in the tires often, since the air will fluctuate in cold weather.
Starting your car when it isn't in use for long periods of time can prevent some freezing.
Don't go out
As of Tuesday, there were no reports of hypothermia at the county's hospitals.
"The secret to success would be to stay indoors," Dr. Jeff Narmi, attending physician for the emergency department at Schuylkill Medical Center for both East Norwegian Street and South Jackson Street, said.
Those who must go outside should limit their time there. Hypothermia can occur in 10 to 15 minutes, he said. The condition can be characterized by dizziness, numbness, tingling, your heart rate increasing and pain in the body, Narmi said.
"Cover everything," he said.
Going inside and gradually warming up will lessen the symptoms.
"Anything that's wet has to come off," Narmi said.
Changing clothes, covering up with blankets and even using a heating pad cautiously will help with symptoms. When in doubt, call a medical professional, he said.
Aaron Tyburski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, State College, warned about the other great danger in arctic air.
"We could see frostbite occur in a matter of minutes," he said. "We did have minus 20 to 30 degree wind chill all over the state."
Nevertheless, if the deep freeze makes one pine for warmer days, there is hope, but still a few days off. Today's temperatures will be in the single digits in the morning with a wind chill making it feel like minus 15 or 20 below. Later in the day it will in the 20s.
"We won't be out of the woods just yet," Tyburski said.
Thursday temperatures will be in the low 40s. Friday will see nearly 40 degrees.
"By the weekend, it will be in the 40s. It will feel like quite a change," he said.
The average temperatures for this time are about freezing, 32 degrees, and a low of 18 degrees, Tyburksi said.
Cold day
Several school districts in the area canceled school because of the cold weather.
Blue Mountain, Pottsville, Pine Grove, Saint Clair, Marian Catholic, Schuylkill Haven Area, Williams Valley and Nativity BVM all did not have classes Tuesday.
Information from other schools could not be obtained.
Some tips to stay safe during the cold winter months.
- At home, check the batteries in your carbon monoxide detectors; carbon monoxide is odorless and can be fatal.
- If you're using space heaters, keep them at least 3 feet away from any objects.
- Don't use your oven or stove to heat your home; it's not designed to do so, and could cause a fire.
- Be careful if you're using a portable generator. Never use it indoors or in enclosed spaces where harmful carbon monoxide can accumulate.
- Check on elderly neighbors and family members.
- In the event of a power outage, be sure to report your outage at 800-DIAL-PPL. The outage center is mobile ready and also can be accessed with your smart phone.
- Be sure you have an emergency kit that includes items such as water, canned food, medications, flashlight and batteries.
Source: PPL Electric Utilities