Plumbing Emergency and how to respond to them
Anyone who has lives past the age of 5 understands that emergencies are a natural part of life. The way you respond to an emergency is vital to the effect it has on you and those around you. While plumbing emergencies might not seem that dire in the whole scheme of things, they are, nonetheless, extremely stressful to deal with. No one wants to have to call an emergency plumber to fix the issue, but, most of the time, it’s a necessary call to make. But, even before you make that call, there are a few things you should do in order to handle a plumbing emergency adroitly.
If the plumbing emergency involves a large amount of water spewing from a pipe or other implement, you can save the phone call at least for a little while. A burst pipe can be temporarily remedied by shutting of the water to the house or building. In some instances, there will be a valve near any indoor pipes like the ones under a sink and near toilets. If the burst pipe occurred inside the house, you could simply turn the valve that controls that water flow to that particular pipe.
Of course, if the burst pipe is somewhere without a dedicated shut-off valve, you may have to use the master shut-off valve. You can generally find this near the water meter outside and it will have a valve on it that will cut water flow to the entire house. This will effectively stop the bleeding until an emergency plumber can arrive on the scene. When you’ve stopped the water from flowing, you should finally make that call. Of course, if the burst was in a pipe with an easy shut-off valve and the sink or other plumbing device isn’t a necessity, you can wait to schedule an appointment with a plumber.
But, plumbing emergencies don’t always cause massive flows of water. Indeed, because the pipes are so similar, plumbers are often adept at dealing with gas lines, as well. If you notice a gas leak of any kind, you’ll either want to turn your gas off immediately, or just get yourself and everyone else out of the house. Gas leaks pose a much greater threat to your wellbeing than water leaks and it’s important to get as far away as possible and maybe even inform your neighbours.
In any event, gas leaks should be treated with proper care and an emergency plumber or the gas company should be called to remedy the situation. In most cases, it will take specific tools to get the gas to shut off completely, and many households likely do not have those tools on hand. No emergency should be treated lightly, but it’s important to not panic or do something counterintuitive while trying to fix the problem. Calling a plumber can certainly help save your day, your house, and maybe even your life.
