Emergency Plumbing Situations

If a main water line in an attic or under a house bursts, time is of the essence to mitigate damage and water loss. It is best to find your water main shut off well before this type of emergency happens.

If you are on metered water, the water meter can be shut off by using a meter key tool or wrench. Water meter keys can be purchased at many hardware stores and I highly recommend having one available. If you know where your water shut off valve is, not the water meter, make sure it works by checking once a year to confirm it works.

There are too many variables as to where the homeowner’s main water valve could be to cover in this FAQ but we can help in finding it for you if you call us.

If a pipe bursts and you can not find you water shut off or can't turn off the meter, you can always call your local water department 24/7 and let them know you have a major water leak that is causing damage and they will come shut off the water for you, often quicker than a plumber can. If your water comes from a well, the main valve should be near the pressure tank. If it does not work, you can cut the power to the well pump which will also stop the flow of water.

The first thing to do in this situation is to stop using any plumbing fixture, including dishwashers, washing machines, and sinks. As long as no more water is going into the drain, the outflow of sewage into the home should stop.

If you have done this but the sewage keeps flowing into the bathtubs or showers, and you are not on a septic system, there may be a clog on the municipal side of the sewer. If you have an accessible sewer cleanout outside the home, remove the cover on it to allow any more sewage to flow outside onto the ground as opposed to inside the home. If this works, then you can take steps to try and unclog it yourself or call a licensed plumber to handle the issue. If you remove the cap to the cleanout and nothing comes out, the clog is between the cleanout and the inside plumbing.

If you are on a septic system, you may need to have the tank pumped or your leach fields inspected, if you have a traditional system and not an aerobic system. For aerobic systems, they have other components and valves that can fail and require a licensed aerobic company to address.

Contrary to what a lot of people think, plumbers are licensed to work on gas systems, both natural gas and LPG (liquified petroleum gas). A gas leak is a potentially dangerous situation for obvious reasons.

Gas companies make PSAs and send out flyers informing their customers what to do if they smell gas. They recommend getting out of the house immediately and calling the purveyor or local gas company. In most cases the gas company will come out, check to see if there is a leak and locate it. If the leak is on an appliance and the appliance can be shut off with a valve, the gas company will shut it off and red tag it for you with information on what is leaking so it can be fixed. If the leak is not on an appliance or can’t be shut off with an isolation valve, the gas meter will be shut off and locked out. Once that happens, a licensed plumber must be called and all leaks, not just the main offending one, must be fixed along with code upgrades made as they pertain to gas appliances such as furnaces or water heaters.

Usually what we find in these situations is there is more than one leak on the system, oftentimes many leaks, and the system must be made 100% airtight before it can be turned back on. If the property is located within a municipality, a city permit must also be secured and the gas system must be inspected by a city inspector, then released to the gas company to remove the lock and turn the gas back on. This scenario can get very expensive and be very time consuming.

Most leaks we find are small but noticeable because the odorant used in gas is intentionally very potent so that you will notice a leak. Odorant is used in gas because it has no taste or odor in its natural state.

If you smell gas once in a while but never very strong, call a plumber first because we can typically find the leak without the hassle of dealing with the meter being locked out and turned off. If you come home and have a very strong odor of gas, do not turn on any lights, open the refrigerator, or do anything other than leave immediately and call the gas company.