Houston area plumbing companies busy responding to calls of frozen, busted pipes

Problems caused by the arctic blast

With Houston locked into another night of freezing temperatures, plumbers prepare for a lot of calls on busted pipes. FOX 26's Matthew Seedorff speaks to plumbers about the issues they're already seeing.

HOUSTON - Plumbers across the Houston area are being overwhelmed with calls for service to fix busted frozen pipes.

"It’s been crazy," said Mark Simecki, a technician with Abacus Plumbing. "We’re starting to see a high number of calls come in. The switchboard is full. We don’t have the power to get to all of them. We’re having to prioritize."

Much of the Houston area dipped into the teens on Friday morning and as the day went on, temperatures maxed out at 32 degrees at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport.

As a result of the freezing temperatures, pipes are freezing or bursting in areas scattered across the city.

"Last night, we bled the house dry," said Charlie Moger, a homeowner in west Houston. "There was nothing in there to burst the pipe. Unfortunately, the valve on the side of the house is frozen. So, we have to wait until it gets warm and thaws before we get water in the house. Then, we’ll find out if we have any leaks or anything."

"Tomorrow is going to be the day where things really get busy," said Simecki. "[We’re already seeing] broken pipes, lines frozen shut, a lot of tank-less calls believe it or not also."

Simecki says he’s planning to work through the night on Friday to catch up on calls. He says they have more than 200 customers already waiting for service from their crews.

"Once tomorrow, when it thaws out, that’s when we’re really going to start noticing," said Simecki. "We’re also going to have a lot of calls."

Simecky worries about what will happen this weekend with pipes as temperatures get above freezing. He believes a lot of people might have frozen pipes and not even know it yet, similar to what happened during the freeze in February of 2021.

Temperatures on Friday night are expected to drop well below freezing again.

"Drain what you can and try to keep things as warm as you can," said Simecki. "Help prevent freezing from happening again."