10 Things You Should Do When You Find a Burst Pipe

Imagine this scenario. You're in your home, sitting by the window, sipping some hot chocolate in the dead of winter. Your family is happily playing in the living room, kids are shouting as they chase each other around, and your spouse is by the sofa on their phone. Snow starts to fall. One by one, they hit the frame of the window. Everything feels perfect and calm. Then suddenly… BOOM!!!

You hear a sudden boom in your basement. Your family does too. You tell your spouse to take the kids and go outside as you rush down to the basement to see what could have caused that explosion. As you come to the top of the stairs, you notice it. Water is filling up your basement floor and is probably ankle-deep at this point. You go closer and see that a pipe has bursts due to ice forming around it. 

You don't panic. Why? Because you've already read this comprehensive list curated by the amazing plumbers in Belrose on how to handle this specific and not uncommon incident. No one wants to tackle something like a burst pipe without the proper knowledge, so you don't need to worry and panic about what you should do next. We got you covered.

Turn the Water Off

When you go down to the basement, your first thought might be, "How in the world did this happen?". Well, ice could have formed inside your pipes due to intense cold weather in the winter months. This could lead to immense pressure build-up that the pipes could not handle. This is a common thing to happen to pipes with low quality and pipes that aren't insulated. If you see that the water is still pouring from the burst pipe, quickly go to the main water valve and shut the water off. This will stop the further flooding of your basement and with the added benefit of probably stopping any more pipes from bursting all of a sudden. 

Turn Off the Power

We know it sounds weird, but the plumbers in Belmore would advise you to open up some of the sinks in your home. Why? Doing this and letting the water flow through can greatly relieve pressure in your pipes, thus avoiding more bursts.

Call a Professional

Now that you've stopped the water flowing, stopped the electricity from running, and relieved some of the pressure in your pipes, it's time to take a step back, breathe in a deep sigh, and call a professional plumber or a plumbing service. Calling a plumber is the best action to take at this moment since they would have more experience and know-how to handle these kinds of emergencies. Call a trusted plumber and wait for him to do their magic.

Try to Clean Up

Grab a bucket and a mop; if you have one, a water pump or vacuum. Try to get rid of as much water as possible by either mopping it up or pumping it out of your basement. Because nobody wants to stand around ankle-deep water, and a quick clean-up can significantly reduce the chance of mold growing in the water lodge room.

Save your Your Prized Possessions

When you're cleaning up the water down there, start moving some of the most valuable stuff you store in your basement, so they don't get ruined by the water.

Time to Heat Things Up

When you're done cleaning up, it's time to heat those pipes. It's not what you think it is. It just means that you should go and use fans to blow hot air into the room. And if you have one handy, you can use a hair dryer to heat the pipes directly, especially the more vulnerable ones to the cold. Why do this? It is to help promote ice melting from inside the pipes. And since you've left the faucets running, pressure will not build up as the ice melts.

Open the Doors

By opening doors and cabinets where pipes usually pass through, you can let warm air into them, thus encouraging more ice to melt.

Put a Rubber on It

Again, it's not what you think. If there is still flowing from the burst pipe, place a piece of rubber over it. This could help stop the flow.

Use Some Wood

When you have the right gear to help stop water flow, place a wood block over the rubber you just put. This can help stabilize the pipe so that pressure can be spread out more and it doesn't collapse on itself.

Use a C-Clamp

Using a C-Clamp over the piece of wood and the rubber you've placed can make for an easy and temporary fix.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, how you handle a burst pipe is up to you and your preferences. A professional plumber in Bass Hill says it's best to let the professional do the work to avoid making things escalate. We hope this list can help you manage this type of problem.