Plumbers see low number of winter calls

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - When it comes to winter storms, another profession often called upon is the plumber.

Their trucks are driving around Wichita Falls, but this week, despite some bad weather, two plumbing companies said those winter damage calls are few and far in between. They go on to say the storm this year simply just wasn’t as bad compared to last year and not nearly as long.

“During that freeze, it probably surpassed 80 to 100 calls a day so yeah we were having to work Saturday and Sundays just to restore people’s water,” Mackenzie Johnson, co-owner and master plumber for Pete Johnson Plumbing, said.

Johnson, who has been working in homes and businesses for 13 years, said while calls for this February’s storm have been low, it doesn’t mean phones won’t start ringing off the hook later this week for busted pipes and even broken hot water heaters.

“We’ve had two days of freezing temperatures so there are homes that their water lines are frozen once we get a day or two of warmer temperatures we’ll be getting phone calls for water leaks,” Johnson said.

And if you ask other plumbers across town in Wichita Falls, it’s the same story.

“It’s not near as heavy as a call volume as last year mainly due to it being a shorter stint of weather,” Laura Henderson, service manager of James Lane Air Conditioning & Plumbing, said.

But something that has changed is businesses and apartment complexes being proactive and taking the advice of these professionals.

“Last year, we had probably 50 places that we service on a normal basis with their sprinkler inspection, but last year some of those sprinklers did freeze or had some sort of leak that required more extensive repairs, but this year we’ve only seen maybe 10 max,” Henderson said.

“We do what we do because we want to help people, so when someone’s calling with a water leak, it’s important to us. We need to get there and get it taken care of,” Johnson said.

They both said as the days get warmer, pay attention to water spots that may appear on your walls, ceilings, and in your attics, and water that appears in places it shouldn’t be. As always, continue to wrap outside pipes and leave faucets open when you know cold weather will hit.

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