How Do You Manage a Plumbing Emergency Before It Goes Out of Hand?

No one wants to encounter a problem with their plumbing, especially during the wee hours of the morning, yet sometimes it’s inevitable. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night after hearing steady drips coming from your bathroom, and, upon close inspection, seeing your bathroom floor already flooded and your feet soaked in water.

Frustrated woman with a man working under the sink behind her

Though your immediate response might be to call an emergency plumber right there and then, it wouldn’t do for you to simply wait for their aid and let the water flow freely. Doing so can only do further damage not only to your plumbing, but to other parts of your home as well. Properly manage an emergency plumbing situation yourself through these simple steps while waiting for the emergency plumber to knock on your door and completely deal with the issue.

Shut Off the Water

As soon as you discover a drip, a leak, or a burst pipe, turn off the water supply to keep things from getting worse. This can easily be done when the leak comes from a fixture, like a faucet or a toilet, for you simply have to turn off the water supply running toward it.

If you’re unable to find the exact source of the leak, or if shutting the water running to the fixture doesn’t stop it from leaking, turn off your home’s main water supply. Remember that even the smallest leak can easily turn into a thousand dollars’ worth of structural damage if you’re unable to put an end to it as soon as possible.

Assess the Extent of the Damage

After shutting off the water, you can now clearly assess the extent of the damage, which you can tell an emergency plumber over the phone. Telling him the scope of your plumbing problems can give him a good idea on how he can handle and fix it in the shortest time possible.

Assessing the problem also helps you determine whether you need immediate help or not, especially if it happens in the middle of the night. In the case of an overflowing toilet, you can simply turn off the water and wait until the morning to call a plumber—as long as you don’t need to use the toilet until then.

Seek Help from a Skilled Plumber

Once morning comes, or if your plumbing problems simply couldn’t wait, don’t delay in calling an emergency plumber like those from Harris Plumbing Inc. Serving homeowners in and around Barrie and Aurora, they can do a proper assessment of your plumbing problem and address it accordingly.

Sources:

What to do in a plumbing emergency, Angie’s List

24 Hour Plumber – Before You Call A 24 Hour Plumber, About