Having a burst pipe is one of the most annoying things you can experience as a homeowner. It’s one of the most anticipated fears as well, and that’s not all. The problem can happen in any season throughout the year, but it tends to get way stronger during the winter season. Wintertime brings out one of the worst plumbing issues and the need for water pipe repairs.
What Should I Do When Pipes Burst?
After noticing a pipe burst inside your home, there are a lot of things you need to do before you even expect a water pipe repair contractor to reach there. No matter how experienced you are, you’ll need a professional plumbing expert to fix this kind of mess unless you are one. The situation needs to be controlled beforehand to minimize unnecessary costs or make the damage more elaborate. In this article, we’ll discuss the various things you can and should do after noticing a pipe burst in your home to minimize any further damage.
1. Stop the Water Supply
The first thing you should do after noticing a pipe burst is to make your way to turn off the water supply. This step should be done before you call a professional plumbing contractor. By shutting off the water supply, you can minimize some serious problems like flooding. To turn off the water supply, you have to find the water main first, of course. It can usually be found in your basement, somewhere in your yard beneath a metal plate, or in your crawlspace. Whatever you plan to do, turning off your water supply should be your first priority. If you’ve been a bit late to turn off the water, the flooded water can affect electrical appliances in your home as well. If that’s the case, make sure you turn off both the main power of your home as well as the water supply.
2. Contact Professional Water Pipe Repair Service
After dealing with the power main and water supply main, your next step should be requesting help from a professional water pipe repair contractor. Unless you have experience as a professional plumber, you will need help as soon as possible. A professional plumbing expert can easily determine the cause of your pipe bursts and take effective steps to deal with it. Even if you have professional plumbing experience, you may still get overwhelmed by emergency plumbing situations. That’s why you need to work fast after you’ve found any burst in your pipes.
After that, make a call to your homeowner’s insurance company if you have one. By calling them, you can initiate the claiming process from your homeowner’s insurance company.
3. Turn On The Faucets
Without a doubt, your water pipe repair service contractor will take quite some time to arrive after you’ve made the call. So, after you’ve turned off the water supply and power to your home and called the plumber, there are still some things to do. Make your way to turn every faucet inside your home and let them drain. This will get rid of the remaining water stuck inside your plumbing system and prevent more frozen water buildup in your pipes.
So, turn on the faucets inside your home that use cold water first. After they’re properly drained, shut off the water heater and drain the rest of the faucets in your home that use hot water taps.
4. Get Some Pictures
You need to take some pictures of the emergency situation to gather some evidence, which you’ll need after some time. It’s time to gather some proof of the incident while your water pipe repair service is on its way. Do this after you’re done with the initial steps as a homeowner,
Get a phone or camera to document the incident for your insurance company. Ensuring a smooth and hassle-free insurance claim process is crucial after experiencing a pipe burst incident. One often overlooked aspect of this process is the preservation of broken plumbing parts. While it may be tempting to throw them out as mere debris, these seemingly insignificant pieces can actually serve as invaluable evidence to support your claim. They can be used as evidence for your insurance claim later without any issues, and it’ll certainly be beneficial for you. These broken plumbing parts could be the key to getting the compensation you rightfully deserve.
5. Drain The Excessive Water Inside Your House
There’s a higher chance that a pipe burst would cause a significant amount of water to enter inside the house. If that happens, make sure you do everything you can to get rid of it. Just using a bucket and a mop to deal with the excess water is enough for this kind of issue. Without cleaning the excessive water, the possibility of getting your appliances soaked gets higher at the moment. By dealing with this problem, you can effectively take care of any future mold problems inside your house. You can also find frozen water left inside your house, and you’ll need to deal with it as well. Turn on the heat inside your house, and it’ll melt the frozen water if the power isn’t already turned off.
Signs Of A Burst Pipe
You may take longer to find a burst pipe in your house, and that’s why you should always look for early signs of a burst pipe so that you can act fast and effectively. Let’s discuss some of the early signs of a burst pipe:
Metallic Smell In Water
After a burst pipe, you may get a metallic taste in your water. Although there can be a number of reasons for getting a metallic taste in your water, it’s also a sign of a burst pipe. If you find this, make sure to inspect your pipes.
Discoloration of water
A pipe burst can cause the water to appear discolored, indicating rusty pipes. Make sure you inspect the pipes thoroughly.
Low water pressure
After a pipe burst, you’ll experience a very low water pressure throughout your home. Check the pipes and act accordingly.
Bottom Line
Burst water pipes are one of the common things homeowners fear. By following our steps above, you can easily deal with it in the best way possible. That’s why, as a homeowner, you should know what to do to minimize the critical issues to your plumbing system when you experience burst pipes. And follow the tips we’ve shared before your water pipe repair service contractor arrives.
