One of the worst types of disasters you could face is a busted pipe inside your wall that is leaking everywhere and starting to cause severe damage. You must of course need to contact an emergency plumber in this event but there also some steps you should take first.

The first thing you need to do is to turn off your entire water system at the main stop valve. You can usually find these beneath the sink. By doing this, you’ll stop the flow from pouring into your home, which causes will damage to your furniture, carpets and floors.

If turning off the main stop valve doesn’t work then go to all of your cold water faucets and turn them on, but do not turn on the hot water faucets. This will almost always drain out the system and immediately stop all the pressing leaks.

After you’ve done that go and turn off your central heating system. The important reason for doing this is so that your boiler doesn’t become an explosive hazard for a blocked or frozen pipe, also you’ll want to turn off any other electrical heaters.

Now you are in a position to get an emergency plumber in there right away, or if you have handled the most critical problems already you can call a less expensive plumber but it may take more time to get your home squared away.
You should also add an emergency electrician to your list of people you’ll need to contact. Sometimes wiring becomes wet due to the water coming into your home, it could present you and your family with an extremely dangerous situation. This is always worth the extra money it takes to get it looked at.

A common reason of a busted pipe is due to a recent temperature drop causing the water inside of the pipe to freeze, expand and cause a crack or split. If you think you have frozen pipes, for example, the water has stopped coming out of the faucets, you can try to thaw them out, but be very careful.

You are really going to want to take your time doing this because just heating up the system too fast will only bust the pipes anyway. Turning off your main shut off valve, as well as turning on the cold water faucets to empty the pipes is the best way to see if you have any damage to your pipes. If there are no cracks or splitting damage, you can place some hot water bottles on it to heat it up gradually.

The most important thing that you can do in a plumbing emergency is to remain calm, cool and collected. Follow these basic steps and you’ll be able to minimize any damage that may end up costing you a fortune.

Normally the water heater is in a place where water damage can be minimal. However, sometimes the water heater can be placed in the loft or attic and if it goes awry, massive amounts of water will cause considerable damage to walls and rooms beneath. The plumber will locate the leak origin and determine what needs to be done to rectify the situation. He will shut off the gas and give the system an overall examination. Sometimes the plumber can fix the problem and sometimes he will have to recommend replacement.

In Florida, sudden winter freezes can cause complete havoc with the water pipes in homes and office buildings. If the weather is nice when people leave for vacation, and it freezes while they are gone, the pipes can easily freeze, crack, thaw and start a never ending cascade of water flowing throughout the house. Unfortunately people turn their heaters too low and allow for the interior of the house to get too cold. That combined with the freezing temperatures cause the water in the pipes to freeze and expand. The first call made will be to an experienced plumber who can deal with not only the burst pipe but with remediating the damage done to walls, floors, and carpets. After the recovery has been completed, the plumber will need to use water vacs and extractor fans to dry out the premises. Preventing mold will be one of the main requirements and that will require treating walls and floors with mold resistant chemicals. Finally, after things are back to status quo, the plumber will recommend and apply insulating fiberglass material to outside pipes to thwart this event from ever happening again.