10 Things You Should Do When You Find Burst or Broken Pipe

Finding a burst or broken pipe is one of the homeowners’ bigger fears. This is because many simply don’t know what to do when it happens. Having water leaking in your home is as alarming as it sounds and it can cause significant damage if you don’t take care of it as soon as possible.

The best thing that you can do is call a professional plumber. However, there are things that you can and should do yourself as well. Here is a list of actions that need to be taken ASAP when a pipe bursts.

Shut off the water

For starters, in order to minimize the damage, you have to turn off the water main in your home. If the valve isn’t located right next to your water heater, look for it in the basement or underneath the crawlspaces nearby.

Turn the electricity off

In case it’s doable, you should also make sure that the electricity in the section where the pipe broke is turned off. It is pretty much common sense that electricity and water don’t work well together, so it is extremely important to make sure that the area is safe to be around and repair properly.

Drain the faucets

After you are done with the first two steps, you need to further relieve the pressure by draining the rest of the water in your home. Open the faucets and flush the toilets until all of it is out of the system. Also, now that you’ve turned the electricity off, you should empty the water boiler too.

Document everything

Before getting close to the pipe itself, you should get a camera and start documenting everything so that you can make a proper insurance claim. Make sure that you’ve got a photo of not only the broken pipe but also anything that got damaged by the water, such as water lines and items.

Salvage belongings

Speaking of items, you need to salvage everything you can. Focus on the most expensive things, as well as those that are difficult to replace. This includes documents, keepsakes, and, of course, any electronics, such as computers and TVs.

Dry the affected part of your home

Now it is possible for you to dry off the area around the burst pipe. If you’re lucky, you can use a mop to get rid of any pools of water. However, if there’s too much, you might want to get some towels and blankets.

Get rid of the carpet padding

If the area in question has carpeting around it, you should lift it up and get rid of the padding below it. Basically, as you can tell by now, it is crucial to make the affected part of your home as dry as possible.

Call a professional plumber

Now would be a good time as any to make some calls and get a hold of blocked drains specialists in Canberra. The pipe needs to be properly repaired before you can get the water running again. It is important to get a professional to take care of the problem. If you don’t know what you’re doing, this isn’t the time for DIY exercises.

Contact a restoration company

While you’ve still got the phone in your hand, call a good restoration company as well. You need someone to take care of the damaged section of your home after you’ve done everything to make a proper claim for insurance.

Open the doors and/or windows

As we have previously mentioned, pipes most often burst because of cold weather. This is why it is important to open your doors and/or windows and get some warm air inside any way you can so that the pipes warm up and the pressure goes down.

Final words

After everything’s back to normal, you need to implement some protection in order to minimize the chances of this happening again. For example, you should install some proper insulation. Pipes can be covered in heat tape so that they are much less likely to freeze.

Furthermore, you should locate any leaks that allow the cold air to get inside. Basically, every hole or crack, no matter how big it is, should be sealed. The places to start looking are around household appliances, like washing machines and plumbing fixtures.

In other words, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.