What to Do in a Plumbing Emergency | Tips from Your Trusted Richardson, TX Emergency Plumber
One of the worst feelings in the world is having a disaster in your Richardson, TX, home that you don’t know how to handle. Whether there’s a fire, an electrical problem or a plumbing emergency, it’s important to know how to deal with anything that may happen in your home. Even if you don’t know how to fix the problem yourself, you should know how to minimize damage until a professional gets there. If you want to keep your home safe from the perils of major plumbing problems, here’s what you need to know about plumbing emergencies and what you can do while you wait for an emergency plumber to arrive.
When to Call an Emergency Plumber
As a homeowner who likely has a lot of different expenses, it can be tough to determine when it’s actually necessary to call an emergency plumbing service. In many cases, homeowners may avoid calling a plumber to save a little bit of money. As tempting as this may be, it can cost you more money in the long run.
The important thing to consider when it comes to plumbing emergencies is the potential for major damage. While a simple leak under your kitchen sink may not be a huge issue, a burst pipe in your basement could cause thousands of dollars of damage. Calling an emergency plumber right when you notice this burst pipe could save you tons of money on plumbing repairs and cleaning up any water damage that may have resulted from the flooding.
Some plumbing problems are emergencies because of the health hazards associated with them. For example, if you’ve got standing water in your home that’s touching outlets or a sewage backup, it’s always best to call a professional.
Shutting Off Your Water
Shutting off your water is one of the most important things you can do to prevent major water damage in your Richardson, TX, home. Every home has a main water shutoff valve you can use to cut the water supply to your home. In addition to this, there are often shutoff valves installed for specific fixtures and areas of your home if you only need to cut off water to a specific area.
As soon as you move into a new home, you should make it a point to find your main shutoff valve and remember where it is. As soon as you’ve got a plumbing emergency that involves major flooding, you can head straight to that shutoff valve and make sure there isn’t a bunch of water flowing into your home.
In some cases, a plumbing emergency may be confined to a specific area of your home where there’s an individual shutoff valve. If you want to make sure you have water to the rest of your home while cutting off water to the problem area, you can turn off your main shutoff valve and look for an individual valve in the room where the flooding is occurring.
Standing Water
One of the biggest things to watch out for in terms of plumbing emergencies in your home is standing water. While it might not seem like a huge deal, there are a lot of risks that come with dealing with standing water if you don’t know what you’re up against.
A big issue with standing water in your home is the fact that it could be electrically charged. Outlets are installed a short distance from the floor, and water that seeps through drywall could be touching wires even if it’s not as high as your outlets. Because of this, it’s best to have an emergency plumber shut off the power and water to your home so they can safely remove any standing water.
Another issue with standing water is the fact that it can be contaminated. While this might not seem like a possibility in many cases, you never know what that water may have in it. When you hire an emergency plumber to get rid of the standing water in your home, they can use special equipment designed to protect them from the potential contaminants in the water.
Sewage Backups
In terms of health hazards, a sewage backup is the worst plumbing problem you can have in your Richardson, TX, home. This is one of those problems you should call an emergency plumber for even if you only suspect you may have a sewage backup.
Contaminants are the biggest problem when it comes to sewage backups. Unlike standing water where you never know what’s going to be in it, you always know what a sewage backup is going to bring into your home. Sewage is filled with bacteria that’s dangerous to deal with and gases that you shouldn’t inhale.
When you hire an emergency plumber to deal with your sewage problem, you’re hiring somebody who knows how to deal with hazardous materials. A plumber can use the proper techniques and equipment to make sure nobody is exposed to anything toxic while removing all the sewage from your home. On top of that, a professional knows how to make sure everything is clean after a sewage backup, which includes disinfecting any surfaces the sewage touched.
The Right Call
There’s nothing worse than having a major plumbing problem at your Richardson, TX, home, but the best thing you can do is stay prepared. By knowing what to watch out for, when to call an emergency plumber and how to handle a plumbing emergency, you can prevent a lot of unnecessary damage.
If you’re looking for a plumber you can count on no matter what day or time it is, you can count on bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas to get the job done. Our emergency plumbers can get to your home in a hurry and prevent costly damage. Next time you have a plumbing emergency, call bluefrog Plumbing + Drain at (469) 214-2582.
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