How To React To a Plumbing Emergency

Plumbing Emergency #1

You walk into your kitchen and step into water on the floor. Looking around, you see it is coming from under the sink. What do you do?

Plumbing Emergency #2

You flush the toilet and the water swirls around and gets higher, but does not go down the drain. What do you do?

Plumbing Emergency #3

You get ready to take your shower. When you look in you see dirty water covering the floor of the shower. What do you do?

What You Should Do –

P.E. #1

Step 1 – Walk to the sink, open the door below and look in. There should be two small shutoff valves, one for the hot water, and one for the cold. Turn them off by turning the handle top edge to the right, or clock-wise. This should stop the water under the sink. If not, go to step 2.

Step 2 – Walk outside and turn off the main water valve for the house. This will stop all water from entering the house and stop a clean water leak.

Step 3 – Walk back into the kitchen, look under the sink to determine what is leaking.

Step 4- Fix the leak, or Call the Plumber.

P.E. #2 

Step 1 – Look under the toilet tank and locate the shut off valve. Turn the top of the handle to the right, or clock-wise. This will stop all water from entering the tank or the bowl.

Step 2 – Find the toilet plunger and try to dislodge the clog, pushing down several times. If it is still clogged, run water into the sink to see if that drain is also clogged. If the sink drains OK, the clog is in the toilet trap in the bowl. Keep plungering. If the sink also backs up, the main drain is clogged.

Step 3 – If the main drain is clogged, Call The Plumber.

P.E. #3

Step 1 The dirty water indicates that the water has backed up from a clogged drainpipe. DO NOT FLUSH the TOILET! To confirm that water is backing up from a clogged drainpipe, check the bath tub to see if it is also backed up. If both are backing up waste water, the main drainpipe is clogged. Call The Plumber.

When this happens, and you are looking for a Knoxville Emergency Plumber give us a call!