If you are a homeowner, you know there's no escaping a plumbing emergency every once in a while. We've all been there: a clogged drain, water leaks, or worse, burst pipes, and suddenly you have water everywhere. While such occurrences can simply be challenging and inconvenient, they can quickly escalate to a disaster if not corrected in time.
A plumbing emergency will most likely incite panic in any home. However, if you manage to keep your cool, the guidelines below can help you prevent a disaster. While you wait for the plumbers to arrive, here are four crucial things you should consider to minimize further damage and costs to your home.
1. Turn Off the Water Supply
Most common domestic plumbing emergencies result in flooding around the house. As a rule of thumb, you should not let water flow through your pipes in the event of such emergencies. Immediately locate the valves that supply water to the leaking fixture and switch it off. If you cannot find the valve, switch off the
main water supply close to your water meter.
If you leave the water overflow unattended, it can damage your floors, walls, and even furniture. Most valves turn clockwise to shut off the water supply. You are one step ahead by turning off the water supply because plumbing work cannot begin until the water is off.
2. Switch Off Your Home Appliances and the Electrical Supply
Water is a good conductor of electricity, and you should ensure that the leaking water does not reach any electrical sources. Flooded water near electrical sources is a threat to everyone in the house.
Ensure you turn off any electrical appliances to reduce the risk of an electrical shock. If there is standing water near the appliances, head to the main electrical switch of your home and cut off the main supply.
3. Check Your Water Heater
The last thing you want to do is leave the
water heater running if there is a plumbing emergency. Switching off the water heater helps reduce damage if the leak is inside the water heater tank. Even if there's no leak, turning off the water heater will relieve pressure on your plumbing lines so you can repair them without worrying about an explosion.
If you have a gas water heater, turn the gas off at the main valve. The valve is usually a lever or a knob located near the bottom of the water heater. If you have an electric water heater, unplug the unit from the wall outlet until help arrives.
4. Do Not Attempt to Fix the Emergency Yourself
When an emergency strikes, you may be tempted to fix the problem yourself, but this is seldom a good idea. Unless you are a professionally trained plumber, you won't understand what caused the problem or how to fix it properly.
No matter how small the issue may seem, you should get a professional involved as soon as possible. If you attempt to repair and make things worse, you could be dealing with extensive damage that could cost thousands of dollars to undo.
If a plumbing emergency occurs at your home, you know that you can minimize the damage and inconvenience. By acting quickly, you can avoid not only having to deal with further damage but also preventing your insurance policy from invalidating your claim.
The steps above will help you handle a plumbing emergency, but remember to always call a plumber during the process. Your safest bet for your home is to have a local, trustworthy plumbing emergency team a phone call away.
Contact us for reliable plumbing when a plumbing emergency arises in your home.
