JOHNSTON, Iowa — When the mercury goes down to the single digits it can make the furnace work harder, and put home plumbing in danger of freezing up.

“The biggest one, probably the garden hose, so we always try to send reminders to anybody of our Gold Club membership, we send out social media, email communications,” said Bobby Johnson, Marketing and Sales Manger at Golden Rule Plumbing and Heating. “Don’t forget to unhook those hoses, if you leave those connected the water that’s in the hose will actually freeze backwards into that outdoor spigot and then it’ll leak internally. That’s the bad part is where you notice the water is that it’s going to come back into the house.”

The furnace also can struggle to heat a home, especially in an older home.

“Once we get to these extremes, you know, where the last couple of mornings it’s been single digit temperatures but feels like it’s zero or below then that’s going to attack any system whether it be the furnace or those internal pipes,” said Johnson. “So, obviously, this time of year the phone starts ringing quite a bit. We’re prepared for this, this is our busy season as we start to get these extreme temperatures.” 

Most pipes on interior walls should be fine, it’s just those in an outside wall, or those with a hose attached outside.

Golden Rule encourages customers to sign up for regular inspections during non-peak times as a way to prevent problems before they happen.

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