Posts Tagged ‘Plumbing Emergency’

How to Shut Off Your Water Supply: A Guide from Mountains Edge

Monday, November 14th, 2011

In the case of a plumbing emergency, the last thing you want to do is watch as more water continues to pour into your Mountains Edge home through a burst pipe, broken appliance or busted water valve. So, the first step should always be to turn off your main water supply valve. Here are some tips for finding that valve and getting the water supply off as soon as possible.

Finding Your Main Water Supply Valve

The valve is almost always located the same place. It is usually in your garage between the inlet and the main water line. Once you find the main water supply valve, turn it off to immediately stop more water from entering your home. If you notice that water is continuing to enter your home, you have a problem before the entry valve and should call the city immediately because one of their pipes might have burst.

Shutting Off Individual Appliances

In many cases, the problem is related to a single appliance. If this is the case, you don’t necessarily need to turn off the entire water supply – just the supply valve for the specific appliance or fixture. Every major water fixture and appliance in your home should have its own shutoff valve in an easy to reach place. This goes for every sink, toilet, shower, dishwasher, and washing machine in your home – not having those valves can be dangerous.

Once you have turned off your water supply, it’s time to call a plumber. Make sure to keep track of everything you do (take notes if you can) and supply that information to the plumber both on the phone and when they arrive. It will help them diagnose and solve the problem much faster.

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Emergency Plumbing Tips and Happy Halloween Weekend!

Friday, October 28th, 2011

We at Yes! Air Conditioning & Plumbing wish you a Happy Halloween! We hope your weekend is full of spooky fun! And since nothing is scarier than a plumbing emergency, we are sharing today some tips on what to do if one happens to you:

  • Shutting Off the Water – If a pipe bursts or you have standing water somewhere, the very first step you take is to shut off the water. Cleanup is pointless if more water pours in. So, we need to stop the flow. Usually, this water valve is located outside, but it can be found under an access panel or in the basement in some cases.
  • Flooding Toilet – Watching the water slowly rise in a toilet, dangerously close to the rim, can be scary. But, there are tricks to slow or stop the flow until the plumber arrives. The first is to turn on your sink faucet to slow down the water flow to the toilet. If you can reach it, turn off the cold water supply to your toilet as well. As soon as the tank is empty, no new water will enter.
  • Turning Off an Appliance – Sometimes the problem isn’t a house-wide problem but a specific appliance overflowing. If your washing machine or dishwasher is about to overflow, turn off the supply valve immediately. It could be several gallons of water per minute if you don’t.
  • When Electricity is Involved – If your basement floods, don’t go down there until you can be sure there is no electricity flowing into the water. That much water with live electricity is incredibly dangerous. If you can’t be sure, get a plumber out there fast.
  • Gas Leaks – Sometimes, a plumbing problem is really a gas problem. If this is the case, don’t try to fix it yourself. Get everyone out of the house and call the gas company immediately.
  • Hot Water Leakage – If you notice that hot water is leaking somewhere in your home, turn off the main water supply and then turn off the hot water heater’s energy source. There should be an emergency shutoff valve on the hot water heater for gas and a switch on the device if it is electric.

In each of these cases, the very next step you take should be to call a professional, but if you act fast you can hopefully mitigate the damage.

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