Plumbing systems are an integral part of any home, but despite having preventative measures in place, the pipes can still go haywire sometimes. This is why plumbing emergencies happen.
Examples of plumbing emergencies usually include leaking pipes and taps, blocked drains, frozen or burst pipes, running toilets, gas leaks, and waste smells. If you find yourself feeling desperate for an effective solution, then you should call a plumber, of course!
Here are some other things you can do to prepare for, and make the plumbing emergency more bearable:
Remain Calm
It’s natural to panic when the toilet’s overflowing, or when you smell gas leaking from your gas lines. But what good will panicking do, though? Nothing! As you wait for the expert to arrive, stay calm, and focus on decreasing any loss or damage by reducing spread of water and removing things that might be exposed and damaged.
Turn off the Main Water Supply
With a leak, the best thing you can do is turn off the main water supply to prevent further flooding and damage from occurring. Remember that the water is still flowing freely in your pipes, and the leaks will only get worse if the main valve is still wide open.
Take Out the Emergency Plumbing Kit
If the plumbing emergency is only minor and you can perform the fixes, your plumber may give you tips for what you may do until they arrive, which is where you will need your emergency plumbing kit. But first, what does the kit include?
- Plunger: Have at least two of these—one to use for your sink, and the other for your toilet.
- Gloves: Disposable ones are better so that you can throw them immediately after any messy, or unhygienic, work on drain lines and toilets.
- Bucket: A large bucket is ideal, especially when dealing with leaks – place it under the pipe or tap to collect the leaking water.
- Flashlight: This will help you inspect your plumbing system quickly, especially in dark spots.
- Tapes: Teflon tape is vital to have on-hand to help prevent and seal leaks. You should also have duct tape ready to seal up leaks in drain lines temporarily until the plumber handles it.
- Tools: Several adjustable wrenches and screwdrivers are all essential tools to have on hand.
Protect Your Belongings from Possible Water Damage
Protect your home and belongings from possible water damage—you never know when a pipe will burst and destroy the items that weren’t kept away. For this reason, it never hurts to have a tarp or large piece of plastic always available to protect your belongings from a strong pipe leak spraying out water!
Don’t Use Tools without Proper Knowledge
If you don’t know how to handle the tools to solve a plumbing emergency at home, you should not go ahead with the DIY fix and leave it to a qualified plumber instead. Handling tools you don’t know how to use could put you in a bigger problem and with water and electrics could potentially put you in a dangerous situation –– better to be safe than sorry!
Conclusion
Plumbing emergencies can be disastrous for any home, but it’s essential to know what to do when you’re faced with a plumbing emergency. This is because knowing what to do will help ease the process and make things go as smoothly as possible. Sure you may be able to minimise the damage from the situation, but better to get an emergency plumber in to take care of the emergency properly as soon as possible!
Taking the right steps during a plumbing emergency is vital. At Fantastic Plumbing, we offer a variety of prevention, detection, and repair services to residential and commercial clients in Byron Bay, Ballina, Banora Point, and surrounding areas. If you need emergency plumbing in Byron Bay, get in touch with our experts today to see how we can help!
