When you have a broken water line in your home, what you do in the first few minutes of finding the problem is crucial. According to Keyrenter Highlands Ranch, ten minutes of uncertainty and delay can make the difference between a repair bill of thousands of dollars versus a repair bill of a few hundred dollars.
What should you do if you have a broken water pipe in your home? What steps should you take to reduce the amount of water damage to your building? How do you minimize the cost of fixing the broken water line in your Orland Park, IL home? Find all the answers below.
Emergency response plan for a broken water pipe in your home
This emergency plan is in two parts. The first section is about protecting human lives, securing your building, and saving your belongings. The second section deals with various options for fixing the damaged pipe, including temporary quick fixes and professional solutions that are permanent.
Locate and turn off your main water shutoff valve
Your most important first step is to address the main issue, the water being discharged into your home by the broken pipe. Unless you do something to stop this constant flow of water, other steps in this guide will be harder or even impossible to complete.
To turn off the water, locate the dedicated shut-off valve for the broken pipe or the main water shut-off valve for your home. The dedicated shut-off valve for a pipe can often be found near the point where it enters the wall/flooring of the house. Close the valve when you find it.
If the pipe doesn’t have its own shut-off valve or the valve doesn’t work, find your main water shut-off. This is often located on the street-facing side of your house (near the water meter) inside the basement, crawlspace, or utility room, below a sink, or below ground in the yard.
Turn off the electricity to the area or the entire house
To prevent electrocution or electrical fires, minimize the risk of the water coming into contact with power outlets, appliances, or the home’s electrical wiring. This means turning off the power supply to the part of your home affected by the burst pipe or the entire house.
If water has already come into contact with electricity, do not touch it. If you must wade through water to turn off the power, wear rubber gloves and boots. Do this even if you think the water is not in contact with electricity. Keep children and pets away from the water.
To turn off the power supply, find your home’s electrical panel (often in the basement, garage, or utility room). Turn off the circuits to the affected area, or if the flooding is severe, cut off power to the entire house by pushing the main breaker to the “Off” position.
Protect your valuables from water damage
Once you have sorted out the main safety issues, you may now turn your attention to your belongings. Try to save as much of your personal stuff as possible. The place to start is with important documents (such as certificates, passports, insurance docs, etc.). Put these in waterproof storage.
Next, tackle your furniture and electronics. Move as many of these as you can to a part of your home that is still dry. Anything that cannot be moved out of the wet area can be elevated above the water by placing blocks underneath it. Move some items to high shelves to protect them from water.
Try a quick fix for your broken pipe
These steps are not meant to be a substitute for professional pipe repair. Instead, they let you restore your home’s water supply (by opening the closed shut-off valve) without risking water damage. This is vital if you have to wait a long time before your plumber arrives to apply a proper fix to the problem.
To temporarily fix a broken pipe with small cracks or pinhole leaks, apply epoxy putty to the damaged areas after cleaning and drying the pipe. This option doesn’t work well with plastic pipes. On the other hand, if you have a large leak, your best options are to use repair clamps, compression clamps, or pipe selves.
However, if the burst pipe is due to a frozen water line in your home, you can apply heat to the affected pipe with a hot wet towel, electric heating pad, or hair dryer to thaw the pipe and restore the water flow. When doing this, do not apply excessive heat directly to plastic pipes to avoid damaging them.
The obvious last step is to contact a reliable plumber in Orland Park, IL. For the best results, look for an emergency plumber that offers 24/7 plumbing service and ensure the plumber has proven expertise in emergency pipe repair for residential plumbing systems.
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