SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — One shopping cart after another rolled up to the registers at Lowe’s in Oviedo, pushed by Floridians who all had something to say about the cold coming in.
One man displayed his irrigation backflow preventer insulation kit, which he said he would wrap around the expensive, cold-sensitive equipment to protect it.
Another man, with help from the store’s manager, bought some heat lamps to direct at the preventer instead.
“It’s been extremely busy,” Assistant Store Manager Neil Kirby said. “Almost every shopping cart that goes out of here has gone out with some kind of pipe insulator to protect those pipes on the outside.”
Kirby said the store has used the better part of the week to adjust to the winter weather, at first by covering plants overnight and then by bringing them inside where the Christmas decorations were once displayed.
He brought out several options he’s encouraging customers to take a look at. First, a pool noodle – which the store had plenty of – which works to insulate pipes if the normal pipe insulators aren’t available.
He also brought out a meter box key to use to access the shut-off valve for a home’s water supply by the street, which could be useful if the normal shut-off valve is broken or the main line leading to a home bursts if it isn’t covered properly.
He also displayed a backflow preventer – a $200 model – as he warned customers to make sure theirs was covered. He also urged customers to buy frost netting for plants instead of using trash bags, which aren’t breathable.
“That’s what makes me want to come to work each day,” he said, when recalling times customers thanked him for his advice.
The store is already looking forward to the springtime, where its temporarily indoor supply of plants is expected to be in high demand by homeowners replacing dead flowers and bushes.
He advised that this weekend would be an excellent time to put down weed preventer, since all the weeds will die and the only thing left will be the seeds for next summer’s weed crop.
“Your yard will be fuller,” he said.
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