Imagine that you wake up in the middle of the night to a loud crashing noise and find that water is pouring from your ceiling. That doesn’t give you a good feeling, does it? While this is a more major plumbing emergency, a plumbing emergency of any kind is stressful! They can happen at any time of the day, or night, and we want you to feel confident that you can handle it until a professional arrives to help you and fix it. Below, we discuss some of the more common emergencies and how you can control the situation, minimizing further damage until the plumber comes.
A toilet back-up
The best thing to do when you have a backed-up toilet is to avoid using it all together. However, if it is your only bathroom and you must use it, you can take a wire hanger and bend it into a curved shape and loosen the blockage inside the toilet bowl. Once the obstruction is loose, use a plunger to unclog the toilet entirely.
Burst pipes
When a pipe bursts, turn off the main water supply immediately. While you wait for a professional plumber to arrive, you can drain the system by turning on all the cold-water faucets in the house and flushing all the toilets. Next, you’ll want to turn off the water heater and turn on all the hot water faucets to drain them, too. When the running tap water stops, the leak will stop also.
Your well pump goes out
The first thing you should do when you think the well-pump has gone out is to shut off the electrical power to the pump. Doing so will help to minimize additional damage to the well pump. An experienced contractor will be able to help pinpoint the cause of the problem. Angie’s List outlines the signs of pump and tank problems.
Tinted water
Tinted water can mean your water balance is off. While this may not seem like an emergency, it is not suitable for you or your family to consume water if it is off-color. It can also wreak havoc on your pipes, causing them to erode and eventually burst. Off-color water could mean one of any number of things and the water should be tested for safe consumption and to be sure there are no issues with the pipes.
You should never hesitate to call your plumber if you are having severe plumbing issues or during a plumbing emergency. These tips are designed to minimize further damage until a professional plumber can be onsite to fix the problem. Arming yourself with the necessary knowledge to handle plumbing issues and keeping our information on hand will help make sure you don’t get entirely caught off guard during a plumbing emergency.