Burst Pipes Due To Freezing? What You Need To Know
Pipes can burst in your home in those cold winter months. This is why having heat in your home is so important, although even if you have heat in your home, your pipes can freeze. If your pipes do burst for some reason, you need to be prepared to know what to do to help prevent a much bigger disaster in your home. If you do end up with a burst pipe, you should call an emergency plumber right away to get help immediately. Read on for everything you need to know if you do end up with burst pipes this winter.
1. Turn Off The Water
You need to find the main shutoff valve in your home. If you aren't sure where this is located, you need to take a look around your home to figure this out. It could be in a basement, in the crawl space, or on your main floor if you don't have either of these. Shutting off the water to the house will help keep even more water from coming into the pipe that burst. If the pipe that burst is a drainpipe, you should still shut off your water valve to ensure nobody washes water into the drainpipe that has burst.
2. Begin Removing The Water
If the water is rising in your home, you need to get it out of your home. If the water is pouring into a basement, it can quickly fill up. You need to remove the water before it fills up too high and gets close to your breaker box or other electrical components in your home. You could potentially have an electrical problem on your hands in addition to a water problem. Use a submersible pump to help remove the water. If it has already gotten close to the electrical systems in your home, stay away from the water to prevent electrocution.
3. Turn Off Power
If the water hasn't gotten up to your electrical, but you don't have a pump, for the time being, turn the power off to your home to prevent a fire hazard. Shut off the power to your entire home until you can get your hands on a submersible pump.
If your pipes freeze, it can be a very dangerous scenario, as well as a disastrous situation. Call a 24 hour emergency plumber right away to come out and handle repairing your pipe so you don't have to wait for help.