Plumbing Emergencies

It doesn't matter whether you live in the city or the country, or in an apartment or your own house, you should always know how to turn the water off in the event of an emergency. There are many such emergencies that will need a quick response and these include a broken pipe or a leaking fixture. As well, there are several kinds of natural disasters that will mean you'll need to turn your water off.

In suburban locations the local water company supplies water to all the homes in the neighborhood through a water main and the meter which is attached to the main, records all of the water consumption. It's important that you know where the water meter is in your house and how to turn it off in the event of an emergency. Water meters are made of brass and about 6 inches in diameter. Most of them have a housing that contains a dial and an odometer similar to one in your car. Shutting the water off to your entire house is as simple as finding the main valve that is located on the side of this meter and turning it off.

People who live in the country and get their water supply from a well should know how to shut off the well pump in the event of an emergency. This is a matter of locating and switching off the well pump value, which is usually located at the top of the well pump itself. You can also turn off the value on the supply pipe that runs from the well to the house.

Then there's the question of frozen or split pipes. In colder areas pipes located on exterior walls are subject to freezing in the winter time. The best preventative measure here is to insulate these pipes, but even insulated pipes can freeze when exposed to drafts of cold air. A plug of ice can form inside the pipe causing it to swell and more often than not, the pipe wall ruptures. A sure sign the pipe has frozen is the most obvious—water doesn’t pass through it to the faucets. Often you'll be able to feel the frozen area by running your hand up and down the pipe.

If the pipe is not ruptured, the quickest fix is to use a hair dryer to warm it up and get the water flowing again, but if you can see that the pipe has already split, you will need to drain the system before fixing the affected area. Of course the flow of water should be turned off before you start any repair. One of the easiest ways to fix the problem is to go to the local hardware store and get a sleeve type repair coupling.

Olympian Civil Home and Building Inspections (866) 476-2056