Is your Atlanta Home in Danger of a Burst Pipe?

In order to be prepared for disasters in order to save money on repairs and minimize the risks to our health and the safety of our homes. Knowing what actions to take in the event of a disaster is a good start, but knowing how to prevent it can be even more important. For this reason, plumbing repairs and maintenance should be taken seriously by hiring only professional, licensed and insured plumbers and they should be done regularly. Yearly maintenance is recommended and inspections are highly recommended to have a proactive approach to an impending repair. Dealing with repairs after they cause damage is unnecessary when regular inspection can detect these problems early and make for a much simpler, easier, faster and cheaper repair.  The best example of such an emergency is a burst pipe in your San Antonio home.

Why are burst pipes such a big deal? You will not know about it until it is too late and unless you know exactly what actions to take, you are likely to have extra water damage to your home than your expect as the pipe expels water. You should know what to do and what cautions to take when dealing with such an emergency and more importantly, who to call to fix it promptly. Make the right moves and you could save, be safer and spend less time overall on the repair.

Cut off the water flow: Buildings differ with both location and age so, depending on your building, you will need to find where the main stop valve to your water supply is located and shut it off. Larger commercial buildings may have separate valves controlling separate water lines, in which case you should only shut off the one with the burst pipe. Once the water has been cut off, you must also go to all hot and cold water faucets or spigots of any kind and turn them on so let out any remaining water. This will minimize further spilling and damages.

Mind the electrical hazard: Immediately shut off all breakers or main switches if there are any electrical components, fixtures or wiring in danger of coming in contact with the water. Electrical shorts can damage electrical connections permanently, fry connected devices and even cause a shock hazard to people. Make sure you prioritize the electrical dangers or you could have further repairs, or a hospital bill to worry about.

Water heaters: There aren’t many other plumbing related devices which store water but this step would apply to them as well. You’ll want to drain the water heater connected to the burst pipe as it stores its own supply of water, so cutting off the water line does not necessarily mean no water will flow. In fact, if you don’t empty your water heater, then you may have ONLY hot water coming out of the pipe, offering anyone nearby a real scare, and potentially a burn risk. Water heaters have a drain somewhere on the main tank, so it should be quite easy just to let all the water out. DO NOT forget to turn off the water heater or you will probably break it.

A burst pipe is a serious situation and it needs a serious and professional plumber to be handled responsibly. Contact Plumbing for Less in Atlanta, GA at (404) 753–9191 for prompt service and great  prices for a burst pipe emergency repair in your home!