LIVERPOOL -- Nick St. Croix's job on Monday night was one part detective and one part plumber.
St. Croix, a technician for Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Greater Syracuse, was looking for clues that would lead him to where ice had clogged the water lines of a Liverpool home. In order to get at the water lines, St. Croix had to move the oven out of the kitchen and pull up the floor.
"Older houses have a lot of drafts underneath. This one has no basement - just slabs. The cold air whips right through and keeps everything cold all winter long," said St. Croix.
As temperatures fell below zero, pipes across Central New York started freezing. St. Croix, one of six technicians for Mr. Rooter, was out on six calls Monday night and still had two more waiting for him after the home in Liverpool.
"It's dangerous. These pipes freeze like no tomorrow and fast - within a couple of hours they freeze over," said St. Croix. "We get busy so quickly."
In Liverpool, St. Croix had to remove the oven and the fridge from the kitchen before opening up a part of the wall. He delicately warmed several areas with a gas powered torch until he finally heard the sound of ice cracking and melting.
"Once it starts dripping the water's going to start destroying the ice on it's own," said St. Croix.
The ice finally broke free and soon both the hot and cold water lines were running again. Jeanne Moore's sister lives in the house and Moore said she would be sure to keep the water running until the temperatures become less frigid.
"By tomorrow it will be all cleared up but when it's this cold they want her to run the water a little bit more and it won't really hurt the water bill for a day," said Moore.
Plumbers say if you're having trouble with frozen pipes, you'll need to track down where the ice builds up and improve the insulation around that area. Frozen pipes can become a chronic problem if the insulation isn't improved and pipes can also burst - causing a much more serious problem.
