Flash freeze: What all those thumps and bumps mean for your house

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Kevin Wharton doesn't have to look long or hard to find trouble spots in your house when Kentuckiana is dealing with its worst flash freeze in 20 years.

"This hose is frozen solid," said Wharton as he inspected a home in Louisville's Crescent Hill neighborhood.

Wharton, a reconstruction specialist for Paul Davis Restorations, believes we can save ourselves money and grief by attending to small details we otherwise might overlook. He's big on venting; specifically, closing the vents to the crawl space.

"You need to stop that cold air from entering," Wharton said. "But if you have heat going into your partial basement, leave an opening so that some of that heat can get into the crawl space, particularly if you have pipes there."

Shutoff valves can also stop a lot of trouble cold.

"Shut off your washer valve between loads, but turn the machine on. It relieves the pressure on the line," Wharton said.

The same is true of water lines connecting to hoses outside.

"Turn off the valve back in the warm house, open up the outside, and let it drain out."

Otherwise, Wharton said, you may not realize that outside water line has frozen, and compromised the pipe, until spring.

"Last thing you want is to wash your car, and go back in to find a flooded basement," said Wharton.

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Flash freeze: What all those thumps and bumps mean for your house