For Pressurized Pipe Leaks
The sooner that you stop the water flow the better. Pressurized pipe leaks can flood a home in minutes, sometimes in a matter of seconds. If your home is equipped with a main shut off valve, we recommend turning it off immediately. If you don’t have an easily accessible main shut off valve, it’s a great idea to know where your water meter is located and how to shut it off.
Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are not plumbers, so the Millennium Falcon is not traveling at light speed to shut your water off. Even the nearest plumber may take at least 30 minutes to get to you, so being able to shut the water off is one of the most important things you, as a homeowner, can do.
So call an emergency plumber, but please try to shut your water off immediately.
*** Pipe leaks in your yard are an emergency if they cause you to have NO water pressure inside your home.
For Sewer backups
An emergency sewer backup involves all of your plumbing fixtures. You won’t be able to flush any of your toilets, use any of your sinks or tub/showers.
*** If you have a 2 story home, the problem will show up on the first floor. When you use something upstairs it will cause downstairs toilets to overflow.
First step is to stop using all plumbing items. Don’t flush any toilets, run any sinks or attempt to take a shower.
An exterior clean-out is very handy when you are experiencing a sewer back up. We recommend removing the plug and hopefully sewage will back up into yard instead of inside your home. If you do not have an exterior sewer clean-out we highly recommend installing one, before you experience a sewer emergency.
Also, if you have a tap clean-out, remove the cover and see if it is clogged. Tap problems are the county’s responsibility and they come out for free.
If the problem is not in the tap, call an emergency plumber.
For Gas Leaks
Gas leaks are more than a plumbing emergency, gas leaks are a safety hazard. So if you smell natural gas, act fast.
First we highly recommend knowing where the main gas shut off is located. For most homes, this will be at your gas meter. Knowing how to shut the gas meter valve off is a great thing to learn how to do, before you have a gas emergency.
If you can’t get the gas shut off, we recommend exiting your home and calling an emergency plumber or your gas provider to shut it off.
Gas is flammable and combustible so we advise you to be very careful when you have a leak. Many people will advise you to open windows and doors, but our advice is to immediately exit the property until you can shut off the flow of gas.
The most important thing to do is shut off the gas flow. Once the flow is completely stopped, the gas that has filled your home will dissipate rather quickly.
