Handling a Broken Water Pipe Emergency

Broken pipes can be caused by many different things. Sometimes they break just because they are old, but more typically, they have cracked or been jarred loose by vibrations in the house. An earthquake or remodeling work might be one reasons why pipes finally break, but even a steady stream of trucks traveling down the street can shake loose pipes or create a fracture in a toilet tank.

When a plumbing emergency does happen, the most important thing to remember is to deal with the emergency in a logical step by step fashion.

Protecting the kids and pets

Many ago, our upstairs toilet tank cracked in the middle of the night, quietly filling the rafters between the two floors with water. The noise of the water running down the hall woke up one of our children, who sounded the alarm just minutes before the family room ceiling exploded in a 20 foot cascade of mud and plaster.

Before dealing with any plumbing emergency, think about the safety of your loved ones first. If the leak is considerable, shoo the pets and kids in the room furthest away from the water and give the oldest kid the job of keeping everyone put. Not only are you placing the kids out of harm's way, they are out of your way while you're trying to deal with the plumbing and the mess.

Move the non replaceables and shut off the water

If there are two adults in the house, one can shut off the water while the second moves non replaceable valuables out of the area such as family bibles and photographs.

How to shut off the water depends on where the leak is coming from. If it's a broken toilet or sink, the water can be shut off at the water supply valve. The water supply valve is usually beneath the sink or toilet, and typically rests at the base of a thin pipe which reaches from the floor to beneath the fixture. These pipes aren't always obvious and may even be located in an undersink cabinet. Shut off both hot and cold supply valves by rotating them counter clockwise. If the valve is jammed, try using a wet washcloth to get a better grip.