A burst water main sprays water everywhere and wreaks havoc on your home. Handle your water main burst with confidence with a little knowledge and preparation ahead of time you can save yourself from panic mode. When there is a burst water main, you need a professional plumber as soon as possible. Today, we at Randall’s Plumbing would like to offer some tips to prepare you and the plumber for the burst water main.
Shut Off Main Water Valve
Knowing where the main water valve is important for a number of scenarios, especially when the water main bursts. Make sure you know where it is at your home so you can handle such emergencies promptly. Where the water main enters the home, the valve is typically located within 3 to 5 feet. Check for a mechanical room, or near the water heater or furnace if you don’t find it on the front wall. Also, the shutoff valve may be right inside the crawl space in a crawl space or with slab construction.
Drain Water from Faucets
Draining all faucets is the next step. When water freezes and expands inside the pipes, most water main burst events happen in winter. Especially if the water has a chance to freeze, you relieve extra pressure when you remove the extra water from the plumbing system. Drain the extra water from the pipes after turning on the cold-water faucets, including the toilets.
Turn Off Hot Water Heater & Drain Hot Taps
Turn off the water heater and drain the hot taps after tapping the cold-water faucets.
Help Circulate Water Pipes by Letting Warm Air In
To circulate cold or frozen pipes is helpful with warm air. Open up cupboard doors that house pipes or direct a hairdryer on a pipe that is frozen, you could turn up the thermostat.
Document Water Main Damage & Clean the Mess
Before you fly into action and clean the mess, be sure to document the damage, particularly with photos and notes. You will want to document all the water damage to your house as well as your possessions for insurance purposes. Take photos of everything. Should you have future plumbing problems, your documentation will also be a historical record to give a plumber. Remember to document water main damage will be extremely beneficial like knowing where your main water shut off valve is ahead of time makes a world of difference.
How Do You Keep Your Pipes from Freezing Without Heat?
As mentioned, the leading cause of burst water mains are frozen pipes. To prevent frozen pipes, the high cost to replace main water lines will motivate you. Save time, headaches, and money later on with the few extra steps below.
1) To keep them from freezing, allow warm to reach pipes.
2) Be certain the temperature stays above freezing, when away from the house.
3) Insulate pipes from the cold by applying pipe sleeves or heat tape to exposed pipes
4) To check for pinhole leaks that can lead to frozen pipes, hire a professional plumber. Locating and fixing pinhole leaks is tricky.
Plumbing Fixture Installation, Repair, Replacement & More in Marshfield, Conway & Greater Lebanon, Missouri
Though frozen pipes are the primary reason to burst water mains, there are other reasons. It is essential that no matter the time of year or weather conditions, you have a professional inspect the plumbing, and call a plumber if there is a burst pipe. Call Randall’s Plumbing for all your plumbing needs!
