JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With all these freezing temperatures in the forecast, it’s important to protect your home. And home service companies are warning more days of these low temperatures, the higher the risk to your home.
As temperatures dropped the calls increased.
“We got probably about 80 calls before about 8-o-clock – either about their HVAC system making funny noises, or they stopped working all together because of the ice,” Snyder’s Director of HVAC Operations Richard Cardona said.
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Snyder Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Electric is working around the clock, with an uptick in calls about HVAC systems.
Cardona said when it goes into heating mode, it will warm up your home, but it actually pushes cold air outside.
“A lot of the troubles that we ran into were the air conditioning systems – combined cooling out there – combined with the water coming down on them, started turning them into a block of ice,” Cardona said.
Because of this, Snyder has extra staff on hand. But even so, Cardona asks people to remain patient.
“As long as it’s still warm inside the house and it’s making a lot of noises outside – unless it’s just big bangs – keep it going, it’s still working properly,” Cardona said.
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When it comes to the pipes in your homes, the Snyder plumbers haven’t seen that spike in calls just yet.
“It has to be freezing for a good long period, so I would say today it’s getting [to the point of] - it’s been cold for a couple days, and it’s getting into it,” Snyder Plumbing Sales Rep Ryan Smith said.
Smith said because of those consistent days of freezing temps, now is the time to start protecting your older pipes, either with some form of insulation, keeping a steady drip, or by opening the cabinets to expose your pipes to warmer temps.
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“Anytime water freezes, it expands and that causes the pipes to rupture,” Smith said. “The drip method is good because it keeps the water moving all the time, and as long as the water is moving in theory, and it doesn’t get too terribly cold, it’ll keep it moving long enough to where it doesn’t sit still and freeze.”
Again, experts advise you to be proactive and protect your homes. But, if you have any issues, call the professionals.
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