Burst pipes are a plumbing emergency that warrants the attention of a plumber immediately. More often than not, these can cause significant damage to your home, particularly when flooding has already occurred. Rest assured that there are several things that you can do while waiting for the plumber to arrive, as well as to prevent this from happening again in the future.
Turn off the Main Water Valve
One of the first things that you need to do when you find a burst pipe is to find your main water valve. As soon as you do, make sure that you know how to turn it off. By doing so, you will be able to prevent more damage. To check if you have effectively turned off the main water valve, try opening a faucet. The water that flows from it would be the remaining ones left in your pipes. After this, no water should already flow out. In some instances, you may also need to power off your electricity, depending on where you found the burst pipe as well as how big it already is.
Call your Plumber
As soon as you have turned off your main water valve, you should immediately call a plumber who specialise in burst pipe repair services. These types of problems are major plumbing emergencies that you should not repair yourself because they may only get worse. Rest assured that emergency plumbers will readily respond to your call.
Get Rid of the Water
While waiting for the plumber to arrive, you can already start getting rid of any water that may soak your house soon. This means gathering up your mop and buckets to do a quick clean. This will also prevent moulds from forming around the area. To foster this, you can also turn up the heat in your home by setting up the fans to do so.
In addition to this, you can also try to place rubber over the leak or the burst pipe. From there, make use of a c-clamp to block a piece of wood together with the rubber and the pipe to form a temporary fix until your plumber arrives.
The Bottomline
Take the time to have your plumbing system routinely maintained to ensure that you won’t have to go through the inconvenient and costly problem of having to deal with burst pipes. With regular and proper maintenance, you will be able to spot any type of plumbing problem early on that can potentially lead to burst pipes.