BUTTE — The dead of winter is upon us here in southwest Montana and a local plumber says that planning and maintaining your heating system is key when it comes to avoiding a catastrophe in the cold weather.
"Sometimes when we go to bed at 10 o’clock at night and it’s 30 degrees above and then you wake up and it’s 19 below zero—yeah, that’s usually when you’re having your big catastrophes that no one was ready for," says Tim Schrapps.
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Schrapps is a plumber and co-owner of S&S Plumbing and Heating in Butte. He has been working as a plumber in southwest Montana for almost 30 years.
"Butte’s kind of unique. It’s cold here," says Schrapps.
Schrapps says the older infrastructure and homes in Butte are also unique because they tend to suffer the most in the frigid temps.
When cold weather hits, a common suggestion for preventing pipes from bursting is to leave the water faucet dripping. But, is that a good suggestion?
"In most cases, you know, you’re generally okay, but when it’s gonna be really cold, you know, just to keep a cold-water faucet just barely dripping. You know, running water obviously has a tougher time freezing than still water," says Schrapps.
Pipes in older homes and mobile homes tend to freeze when cold air gets through the home’s foundation, so even a slight drip can prevent freezing. Inside the home, Schrapps says debris like dryer lint can wreak havoc on gas-fired appliances. Outside the home, items like garbage cans located next to vents can cause problems for heating systems.
"Just awareness that, okay, you know, it’s gonna be cold this week. Let’s just make sure that everything is clean and uncluttered and you know, able to breathe," says Schrapps.
He also recommends getting your heating system inspected every couple of years.
"It sure does help and then you don’t have a big mess going on on a big day when no one is around," says Schrapps.
