For most homeowners, plumbing emergencies are commonplace. A leaky faucet here or a clogged drain there is just a fact of life. When they do occur, however, it's worth knowing a few treatment procedures that can mitigate their damage. If you are not confident in your abilities, do not attempt to do any major plumbing repairs. Instead, summon a licensed professional when disaster strikes.
Leaky Faucets
Leaky kitchen and bathroom faucets are the most common plumbing problems at home. If left untreated, the drips usually rack up insane water bills and cause rust to other components at home. To remedy the situation, simply turn off the water supply using a wrench and call an emergency plumber for further assistance.
Water Heater Malfunction
A water heater malfunction is basically what nightmares are made of. You go into the bathroom for a quick shower only to find that the water is ice cold. To illustrate, the storage water heater normally functions by heating water from the water supply line to a specific temperature range. When no hot water comes out of the faucets, the fault more often than not would be with your thermostat. To be sure:
- Check all hot water faucets at home to see whether the problem lies with the faucet or water heater. If hot water comes out from the kitchen, call an emergency plumber to check for a broken pipe.
- Secondly, touch the water heater to see if it is functioning correctly. If not, call an electrician to fix the thermostat.
A Blocked Sink Drain
A slow drain while doing dishes or brushing teeth can be annoying. A blocked drain, however, is an emergency that requires quick attention as it slows down most of your daily activities in and around the sink. These blockages are typically caused by dumping dense material, such as food particles, in the kitchen sink. To alleviate this problem:
- Place a plunger over the sink drain and fill it with water just enough to cover the cup of the plunger. Press the plunger in an up and down movement to create suction. Repeat until the obstacle gets out of the way, and water drains quickly.
- If the plunger does not work, consider using a kitchen plumber's snake.
These two methods should be enough to fix most domestic sink blockages. If the sink still drains poorly call in an emergency plumber for expert help.
A Clogged Toilet
The toilet is one of the most used fixtures at home and clogging is an unwelcoming sight. A clogged toilet means that you will not be able to use the toilet, not to mention the potential for an overflow and other unhygienic consequences.
- When your toilet gets clogged and is overflowing, don't panic. The first step is to turn off the water valve on the side of the toilet.
- Add water to the bowl until it's half full and using the plunger, apply upward pressure repeatedly until the water drains out of the toilet bowl.
- More serious clogs will require an augur to fish out debris that's causing a blockage. This can be messy, call a plumber to help with this.
For more information or for help, contact an emergency plumber near you.
