At some point, almost every homeowner faces some kind of a plumbing emergency in their home. They come with a lot of stress, frustration and a sense of urgency, requiring the assistance of an emergency plumber in Irvine or another area you live.
These emergencies can happen anytime. Don’t let them catch you off guard. Calling your trusted Irvine emergency plumber is the first but not the only step you need to take. Regardless of the time of day and the nature of the plumbing emergency, you should be ready to protect your house from further damage until help arrives.
Read on to find out how to deal with a plumbing emergency.
Locate the main water shut-off valve
In case of an emergency, you should stop the water flow to other parts of your house as soon as possible. To do this, you need to shut off the main water valve by turning it clockwise. This will prevent further damage to your home.
For this reason, it’s wise to look for the main valve the minute you move in. If you haven’t located it yet, do it before an emergency strikes. In case of a plumbing emergency, each second counts. You wouldn’t want to waste them on searching for your main valve. It is usually located close to the water meter or near an exterior access point of your home’s crawl space.
Turn off the water heater
After you stopped the flow of water, you should tend to your water heater. If the hot water is allowed to run dry while the water heater is operating, the water tank will drain and the heating element will overheat and burst.
To avoid this, simply shut off the breaker that supplies your water heater with electricity or turn off the gas supply if you have a gas water heater.
Unclog the toilet
In case you’re dealing with a clogged toilet, you will need a flange plunger. Insert it into the toilet opening and pump the plunger quickly and vigorously a few times to create a vacuum suction. Then pull the plunger sharply. This should pull the blockage out of the drain trap.
A flange plunge does the trick in most cases but if it fails to help unclog your toilet, you will need another special tool – a toilet snake. If you don’t feel confident using it, it’s best to call an emergency plumber Irvine homeowners rely on.
Stop a toilet overflow
If you have a clogged toilet with the water level slowly rising to the brim, you can stop the flooding in your bathroom if you catch it in time. Shut off the valve attached to the tank on the water supply line near the floor.
If you cannot locate the valve to turn off the toilet’s water supply, reach into the tank and lift the float on the fill valve. If the water continues to run, shut off the main valve.
Call your trusted emergency plumber Irvine
The minute a plumbing emergency happens, call a trustworthy company that offers plumbing services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, such as Emergency Home Solutions. Our skilled and experienced technicians will handle the issue with proper equipment in a timely manner.
For more than 15 years, EHS has been providing reliable services to Orange County residents, including emergency plumbing, water damage restoration and mold remediation. We can help you get through any urgent and unnerving emergency plumbing situation you may encounter.
If you need an emergency plumber in Irvine or another Orange County neighborhood, call us at (949) 916-0549. We’ll see to it that you get back to your daily routine in no time!