Northwest Ohio braces for icy blast with expert tips to protect home pipes

NORTHWOOD, Ohio — WTOL 11’s weather team has issued three ALERT DAYS to begin the week with temperatures expected to drop into the single digits for days at a time. 

By Sunday afternoon you could already feel the temperatures dropping. 

As anyone who has owned a home in northwest Ohio or southeast Michigan for a while knows, the extreme cold can cause a lot of problems in your home. 

A local expert is sharing tips for homeowners to prepare for this bitter cold, especially when it comes to keeping your pipes from freezing.  

Tom Wojciechowski, owner of Wojo’s Heating and Air Conditioning, says busted pipes are one of the biggest problems homeowners face during cold snaps like this.

But he says there are ways to avoid these issues, such as keeping the thermostat in your house warm enough. 

“When it gets extremely cold on the single digits, I would advise you to keep the thermostat set. You know, if you keep it at 68, 70 degrees, keep it there. Because if there are pipes in colder areas in certain rooms, this will only help the situation to prevent them from freezing,” said Wojciechowski. 

And here’s another nifty trick of the trade, that just requires the turn of a faucet.

“The other is to let the faucets drip if it gets really cold, And then open up the cabinets under the vanities in the sinks. That’ll help the warm air in the house, you know, get on those water lines going up to your faucets,” said Wojciechowski. 

 If you really want to be thorough you can wrap your exposed pipes in heat tape or purchase pipe insulation. 

“Residential style instillation for half-inch pipe you can buy it at any big box store you just pull it apart and put the tape on it and that will help insulate it and prevent the pipes from freezing,” said Wojciechowski. 

Wojciechowski says it’s always wise to get a second set of eyes to make sure there are no drafts in your home that can get to your pipes.

“So you need to do an inspection. Make sure that everything is sealed up properly,” said Wojciechowski. 

But in the case your pipes do freeze, don’t panic.

Wojciechowski says you can either call a professional or take a stab at it on your own, but be cautious while doing it.

“If you do have these freeze, you got to be careful thawing them out. So you can use like a hair dryer, heat guns, or just maybe electric heaters or some type of heaters to get close to the pipe. But I wouldn’t recommend using a flame. You could damage the pipes. It could be dangerous. So, you know, and it takes time to thaw them out, but that’s the best way to do it,” said Wojciechowski. 

For the latest on the extreme cold, download the WTOL 11 weather app for the latest weather conditions.