What is considered an emergency

There are plumbing issues that you may feel you can ignore for now. However, others may cause more damage to your home if you delay fixing them. The tricky part could be adequately identifying plumbing issues in the second category. Read on to learn what is considered a plumbing emergency.

This post also considers various types of emergency plumbing issues and precautions for gas leaks. In addition, you can read up on steps for dealing with water leaks and the qualities of good emergency plumbers.

Plumbing emergency explained

A plumbing emergency is a plumbing issue or problem that compromises the integrity of your plumbing system and poses a severe risk to a household. A plumbing emergency is capable of causing water damage to your home.

Types of plumbing emergencies

Examples of common plumbing emergencies that you should get an emergency plumber to fix include the following:

Burst pipes

If there is an excess build-up of water pressure near weak pipe joints, it can lead to burst pipes. In turn, plumbing fixtures like taps can begin to fail. In addition, ruptured pipes can occur due to faulty workmanship, low-quality pipe fittings, and age.

Meanwhile, if you have property management responsibilities, you should take loud ‘popping’ sounds seriously; they can signify a pipe bursting. Burst pipes can often lead to severe water damage. Inviting your local plumber for a plumbing emergency repair would be best.

Overflowing toilets

An overflowing toilet is something that no one wants to see or deal with. It’s a common plumbing issue that clogged toilets can cause. You can use a plunger as a quick fix for clogging drains or toilets.

However, you would not be fixing the underlying problem. Instead, you should call an emergency plumber to identify and fix the underlying issue. This should be done before using such faulty DIY plumbing fixes.

Clogged drains

Blocked drains can result from accumulating items such as hair, wipes, and paper towels in drain pipes. Similarly, tree roots can penetrate, creating little pipe cracks and causing clogged drains. Your best bet to fix blocked drains due to tree roots is to call an emergency plumbing company.

It would be best if you acted promptly when you notice the following signs of clogged drains:

• Water puddles
• Slow drainage
• Bubbling water
  

Sewage system backups

As expected, a common sign of backed-up sewer lines is the smell of sewage. Likewise, water backup in other areas of your drainage system indicates backed-up sewage. This includes instances of water coming up kitchen sinks when you flush toilets.

Taking sewage system backups seriously would be best, as they can pose serious health hazards. The release of air-borne contaminants can cause symptoms such as gastroenteritis and fever.

Hot water heater problems

Signs of malfunctioning hot water heaters include running water, failing to get hot, discoloured water, and releasing strange odours. Before taking action, you do not need to wait for a more severe water heater breakdown, such as water spilling out of your tank. It would help if you did not wait for the water heater to fail before calling a licensed plumber.

Even though hot water systems have an actual life span, you can use good maintenance routines to extend them. Indeed, routine maintenance can help you avoid hot water emergency problems arising from faulty parts, rusty water, and low water pressure. Get a professional plumber to check hot water systems each year properly. You should also provide routine maintenance.

Gas leaks and smells

Gas leaks are hazardous due to the risks of explosions. In addition, they cause serious health problems such as dizziness, headaches, chest pains, and even loss of consciousness. That is why you should give gas leaks your immediate attention.

Your first step after smelling gas should be to turn off the main gas plumbing supply and evacuate the property. After that, you should call an emergency number. Meanwhile, you can take the preventive measure of servicing gas appliances and plumbing fixtures every two years. Be sure to get a qualified gas plumber for this purpose.

Routine plumbing vs. emergency plumbing issues

You can use the following signs to know if you need an emergency plumber instead of a routine plumber:

• Disrupted water flows that do not have other plumbing system alternatives.
• Safety hazards to the household caused by the plumbing problem.
• Attendant public health risks due to the plumbing issue. An example is problems with sewage flow.
• Resultant increases in the cost of utility bills and water bills. This can occur due to heavy water loss in plumbing systems.
• Possibility of water damage to property.
  

Precautions for when you have gas leaks

• Take note that it is not advisable to attempt DIY gas repairs. Natural gas is dangerous, and LPG gas is dense and highly flammable.
• It would be best if you always invited a licensed gas fitter.
• Shut off the mains gas supply, gas metre, or gas bottles.
• Open windows and doors to improve ventilation.
• Make sure to turn off all electrical and gas appliances.
• Be sure to remind everyone not to use naked flames.
  

Steps for dealing with water leaks

Water leaks are often an emergency that calls immediate attention. You can take the following steps when you spot signs of severe water leaks:

• Isolate the water leak by turning off the water supply at the mains.
• Move your furniture and belongings away from the affected area to prevent more water damage.
• Call an emergency plumbing company to check for damaged pipes and other issues.
  

Qualities of good emergency plumbers

It is critically essential for your emergency plumber to quickly and effectively fix your emergency plumbing issues. That is why you should get it right the first time you get one.

Here are telltale qualities of a good emergency plumbing service:

• Professional plumbing companies have real people answering their phone lines.
• They should have master plumbers with accreditation and membership with the Master Plumbers Association.
• A good plumbing company should be appropriately licensed and insured.
• They should have licensed gas fitters to perform gas fitting services.
• Response times should be prompt and quick.
• They should have good aftercare service. For instance, they should be willing to perform return visits as needed.
• Good referrals and recommendations from your friends or neighbours.
• You should be able to get valuable plumbing maintenance tips from them.
• A reputable plumbing company will not make bogus “No Call Out Fee” claims.
• They should go beyond offering regular business hours plumbing services to offer after-hours emergency plumbing services.
• They should have the experience to handle various emergency jobs.
• A good plumbing company will always follow plumbing codes, implement good plans, and provide proper venting.
  

An emergency plumbing company can help

From what you have read so far, you know what is considered to be a plumbing emergency. You also learnt more about emergency plumbing issues and steps for dealing with gas and water leaks.

While some plumbing jobs can be done as DIY, some repairs require professional emergency plumbers. You need to look beyond the additional charges of calling an emergency plumber and consider further damages you will avoid. Moreover, they can help you out with many other plumbing services.