Act now to prevent a flooded home this weekend

COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Bitter cold temperatures are expected to hit central Ohio this weekend, and it's important to keep your pipes prepared for what's ahead.

"It can be deathly cold, it can be windy as can be, but when you have both, that's when we start running into problems," said Ryan Halla, Operations Manager for The Waterworks in Columbus.

Halla says he's seen the sights of frozen pipes leading to bursts far too often, explaining that it will leak water all throughout your home.

"Imagine a piece of copper, with a hole in it about the size of your pinky, water's going to flow out of there non-stop, until you shut your water off to your house," said Halla.

So when the temperatures dip into the single digits, Halla says you need to run a slight stream of water throughout the pipes in your home.

Otherwise, you may find yourself having to call in experts like him.

And he says to look out for your outdoor pipes as well.

"Outside faucets shut off inside your home, if you forget to take your hose off, water can literally freeze inside of the faucet and split it out as well," said Halla.

However, if you find yourself in need of help, then Halla says you might need to have a little patience, because they can get up to 3,000 calls a day during times like this.

"I mean we're going to do our best, to help everybody out, hopefully it doesn't happen, but unfortunately, when dealing with weather like this, it's going to happen," said Halla.