Hardware Stores Packed As People Prepare For Colder Temps

People are packing hardware stores to load up on everything necessary to keep their homes safe during the bitter cold temperatures. Some outdoor faucet covers are already out of stock at a midtown store.

Customers tell News On 6 that the timing of the freeze really caught them off guard.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” said Eric Standridge, a shopper at Midtown Hardware. “It just kind of hit.”

Standridge made the trip to the store to find what he could to keep his home safe.

“We use Pex tubing,” he said. “We’re going to get some of the foam that goes around the Pex.”

Standridge isn't alone.

Store manager Savannah Padek says the store has been flooded with people coming in.

“As soon as we get the first word of cold weather, people kind of freak out a bit,” she said.

The first freeze is coming earlier, which means items like weather seals are flying off the shelves.

“It’s usually the day of or the day right before the weather hits,” said Padek. “It just seems like it’s an inflow of people that need to get their stuff taken care of last minute.”

While the store is currently out of faucet covers, more have been ordered and are expected to arrive later this week.