Hello, my name is Lelani O’Malley. Welcome to my website about keeping your plumbing system in great shape. When I bought my first home, I was shocked to learn that it was built in the early 1900s. Another shocking discovery awaited as I learned that the plumbing system remained from its original build. Upon learning those facts, I dedicated my time to learning how to keep that system in great condition. I developed this website to bring that knowledge to you as well. I want to help all my readers maintain their existing plumbing system for years to come. Thank you for coming by.
Survival Advice For A Plumbing Emergency
Your plumbing system is quite obviously one of the most important parts of your home. A plumbing system that suddenly springs a huge leak, gets frozen over or suffers any other kind of emergency may leave you in quite a bad spot. Thankfully, plumbers that specialize in emergency plumbing are out there and may be just a phone call away. In the meantime though, it's a good idea to do what you can to try and get control of the situation until your professional help shows up. Here's the advice you need to survive an emergency plumbing situation.
Don't Do Anything You Are Not Sure Of
First things first — you called an emergency plumber for a reason, and that reason is likely that you don't know how to fix the problem or at least don't have the right tools to do it by yourself. A homeowner who starts messing around with pipes without the right tools or expertise could quickly make a bad situation even worse. Do what you can, but realize that in some cases, it might be best to just sit tight until your professional plumber gets there.
Make Sure There's No More Water Coming Into the House
But with that said, one thing that every member of your household including you needs to know how to do is turn off the incoming supply of water into your house. Every house has a water shut-off valve that can be activated in case of an emergency. Locate your valve and shut off the incoming rush of water in order to prevent further damage to your home.
Soak It Up But Avoid Standing Water
Once the water is shut off, assess the damage. If there is anywhere with water clearly beginning to pool up, grab some towels and soak up what you can. There's a caveat here though, and that's if the water is already so high that you can't see what's at the bottom, stay clear. You don't want to risk a shock by wading into water that is covering electronics that are still plugged in. Wait for your professional help to get there.
Make the Emergency Plumber's Job Easy
Finally, if you know there is a section of the house or basement the plumber needs to get to, try and clear away any obstacles. For example, your basement pipes might be surrounded by storage boxes or other things that are just going to get in the way. Remove these obstacles as long as you can do so safely so that your plumber can get to work right away.