For most of the week, East Texas has experienced below freezing temperatures.

Today, the area finally started thawing out.

And that creates some problems of its own.

Some East Texans were calling their favorite plumbers this afternoon after their pipes simply burst from thawing ice.

Today in Whitehouse, we spent some time with one plumber in the middle of a very busy day.

Ricardo Guerra with American Plumbing has been in the plumbing business nearly all of his life.

He says this week has been a busy one for American Plumbing.

Guerra says it hasn't been this busy since the 80's when there was another giant freeze.

Today, Guerra was working on plumbing fed by a well to a home in Whitehouse.

The homeowners had not been able to use the water for days and when ice started to melt, the PVC pipes broke.

Guerra says proper insulation is key for keeping pipes warm, and it's also good to keep the water flowing somehow - for example by leaving faucets dripping.

And as East Texas braces for another cold situation next week, Guerra says it's important to know how to shut your water off.

"A lot of people don't know how to cut their water off.  So it's a good thing to get you a meter key, make sure you can cut your water off or have a plumber install a new shut off valve to your house and show everybody in the family how to shut it off," Guerra said.

Join us tonight at 10 to hear more of our interview with Guerra as he works.