Coming thaw could spell trouble for your home

Hannah Caulder hasn’t grown used to this frigid weather. After all, it’s her first winter in Colorado.

I love the snow, but it’s different than Texas,” said Caulder. “Texas doesn’t get snow we get ice.”

She just moved from Texas this summer.

And despite the forecast warnings, she didn’t quite have everything she needed…

“We needed a shovel, which we don’t have,” said Caulder. “Salt or sand to put out on the steps… We don’t have them.”

She’s hoping the pipes in her house will hold.

“I don’t know what to look for, I’ve never been told,” she said. “I’m not used to this weather.”

The cold blast may have a lot of people checking every crevice of their homes. If they didn’t have everything they needed before, then they may be grabbing a cart and heading through a grocery store.

The largest concern is those pipes that have been frozen for days,” said Brian Biederman, assistant manager at Lowe’s in University Village.

It’s been so cold that if your pipes do crack, you won’t notice any leaks because they’ll freeze over.

But once the pipes thaw nothing will stop the water.

“Outside wall sinks, kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks,” Biederman said. “Open those doors in the cabinets, let the warm air circulate.”

Stores are stocked with pipe covers and expect to see a flood of customers like Caulder when the thaw finally comes.

“I want to know what I’m gonna need to do next time, what I’m gonna need to prepare for,” she said.