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Plumbers Thaw Pipes As Deep Freeze Blasts Into Tri-State Area Homes

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- City sewer pipes were not the only things having trouble in the frigid weather.

Pipes in many homes easily succumbed to the cold and kept local plumbing crews very busy, CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez reported.

Record low temperatures brought a new low to George and Elsie Lahrman's White Plains home.

"In the house 40 years and never had this problem but we had it last night," Elsie said.

With no insulation in the couple's exterior kitchen wall the frigid, cold air blasted into their home, froze pipes, and left the couple without hot water.

"I tried to heat it with a hair dryer but that didn't work so I got the pros in," George said.

The Lahrman's call for help was among more than 300 cold weather related calls made to Bruni and Campisi Plumbing, Heating, And air Conditioning on Tuesday.

"Frozen pipes, no heat situations, people with no hot water," Vince Hannigan explained, "Insulating your house properly is the best advice but it's not feasible for everybody."

On bitter cold days, Hannigan suggested letting faucets run and keeping the thermostat at one setting so water can circulate and cold can't penetrate to freeze the pipes.

Keeping the cabinet under the sink open will allow heat to circulate around the pipes, a small lamp can also be used to keep the area warm.

After more than an hour under a heat gun the Lahrman's pipes were flowing with hot water. They said that they plan to insulate the wall so they don't end up in a deep freeze again.

Experts added that when leaving your home thermostats should be set to at least 55 degrees to prevent pipes from freezing.

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