Water can damage your home and it can do it fast! If you have a pipe that bursts or another plumbing emergency, you can end up replacing floors, walls, furniture, clothing, and more. However, there are a few things you can do to save your home. Take action at the first sign of an emergency and you can save yourself thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Turn Off the Water Supply

If your emergency is in a sink or a toilet where there’s a knob to shut off the water just to that area, turn it off as fast as you can. If your leak is somewhere else or you can’t find the knob, get to your main shut-off valve as soon as possible. This can be a round knob or a lever and is usually located close to the rest of your utilities. If you have a basement utility room, look there first. If you can’t find it, look through the rest of your basement. It may also be in your garage or even outside your house, especially in older homes.

If you are reading this in the middle of your plumbing emergency, stop now to turn off your water supply. Then come back for more instructions. If you aren’t having a plumbing emergency but you’re not sure where your main water supply valve is, go find it when you’ve finished reading. You’ll be glad you did if you ever have water spraying everywhere!

Stop Using Water

Once your water supply is turned off, water won’t be flowing into your house anymore. Stop using water entirely. This means no getting drinks from the fridge, no showers, no dishwashing or toilet flushing, NOTHING. Trying to use water when the main valve has been turned off can damage your home and your pipes even further. It can also harm appliances, like your dishwasher or washing machine. Instead, ask your neighbor if you can borrow their bathroom until help arrives or take your clothes to a laundromat for a few days.

Call The Plumber

Once your water is off, give us a call. We will come to your house as soon as possible, address your plumbing emergency, and get everything fixed so you can turn your water back on and live life as usual. We promise that we will get there fast, so you won’t have to be without water for very long. We’ll also work as fast as we can without compromising the quality of our craftsmanship, so you can be sure your pipes are repaired well. Get back to normal quickly with The Plumber!

Call us for help with your plumbing emergency today! Our plumbers are standing by to help you out.