3 Things You Need To Do When Water Is Leaking From A Pipe
Hopefully, you never have to encounter a plumbing emergency. But if you find yourself facing a plumbing emergency where water is pouring out of a damaged pipe, you need to know what to do to mitigate the damage until a certified plumber can get there and help you out.
Shut Off Your Water
The first thing that you need to do is shut off your water. You don't want the water to continue to leak out of the pipe, and cause water damage to your home. There is no need for further structures to be damaged. If the water is coming out of a broken supply pipe to your sink, you can just turn off the water control valve for the sink. It is best to turn off the nearest or most logical water supply valve.
If a pipe under your home or in a wall burst, and you are not sure what the nearest water supply valve would be, that is when you want to turn off the main water valve to your home. You should know where the main water valve is in your home before a plumbing emergency occurs. In many homes, the main water valve is in the basement or garage. For most main water valves, you need to turn the valve clockwise. When you turn off the main water valve, you are turning off water to your entire home, so you will not be able to get water anywhere in your home until the water is turned back on.
Clean Up the Mess
Once you turn the water off, you need to clean up the mess created by the water leak. That means getting out your towels and mop and cleaning up the spilled water right away. You can use a wet shop vacuum for bigger spills. The sooner you clean up the water, the less likely there is to be water damage from your plumbing emergency.
Keep in mind that just because you turned off the water doesn't mean that the water is done coming out of the pipes. The water that was already in the pipes will still be there. Put a bucket under the pipes to collect that water.
Call a Plumber
Finally, you need to call a plumber. When you have a leak that is so serious you had to turn off the water to your home, you need to get someone out there today, especially if you had to turn off the main water valve. You are going to want to look up and find a plumbing company that has an emergency plumbing dispatch, where they will try to get a plumber to you as fast as possible.
If you have a pipe leaking water, you need to turn off the water, clean up the mess, and get an emergency plumber to come out and fix the issue.