If you have recently purchased a home, the furthest thing from your mind may be that something could go wrong with the plumbing. However, even if the house is new, there is always a possibility that a pipe could bust or leaks could spring up around the fixtures. To help prepare yourself for such emergencies, there are a couple of things you can do before they happen.
1. Locate the Water Valves for Your House
One thing you can do to help prepare yourself for a plumbing emergency is to know the location of the water valves for your house. You do not want to have to be scrambling to turn off the water as it spews out of a busted pipe. Nor do you want to have to search your property for the cleanout if the drains become severely clogged.
Ideally, there should be shut-off valves under each sink, the toilet, and behind the washing machine. If not, a valve in one area of your house may feed multiple rooms. You can test this by turning off a valve and trying to turn on the faucets to see if there is still a water supply.
You should also know the location of the main water valve that feeds your entire house, which may be in the basement or right outside of your house. If a pipe bursts inside of the wall, you will need to shut the main water line off to keep from flooding your home.
2. Have an Emergency Kit on Standby for When You May Need It
Besides knowing where to shut off the water, it is also helpful to have an emergency kit on standby for when you may need it. This kit should include pieces to take care of a variety of emergencies, from a clogged toilet to a busted pipe.
When gathering the kit, it should include a bell-shaped plunger for clogged toilets and a standard plunger for sink drains. You should also get some strong tape like duct tape that you can use to wrap a break in a pipe as a temporary patch. A stack of towels and a bucket would also be useful for cleaning up and catching any water.
Taking steps to prepare yourself for when a seal breaks or a pipe bursts can help you decrease the amount of water damage in your home while you await help dealing with the emergency issue. As soon as you have taken care of the immediate threat, however, you need to contact companies like Knights Plumbing & Drain and explain your situation so that they can come to your home to deal with it as soon as possible.
Share23 November 2020
My homes have always had either copper or PVC plumbing pipes. But when my plumbing system needed an overhaul last spring, I wanted a piping system for my home that I could work on myself when needed. There were a lot of good reasons to choose PEX piping, but my favorite thing about the PEX piping is that it's easy to work with, even if you're a beginner like me. Now I can make small repairs myself instead of calling the plumber every time I have a minor leak or other small problem. I still call the plumber for the big stuff, but it's more affordable now that I can take care of small issues myself. I started this blog to help others learn how they, too, can do DIY plumbing repairs at home.