Emergency Plumbing Services

Posts Tagged ‘Frozen Pipe’

One can avoid several mishaps if they go for regular maintenance of their plumbing systems. Many of the disasters take place because of sheer negligence. Lack of maintenance gives rise to different kinds of plumbing emergencies. If you don?t take proper care of your plumbing system you may experience plumbing emergencies like burst pipe or frozen pipe. If you face any such emergency situation taking a few steps can limit the damage. But you should act very fast and take certain measures even before the plumber arrives. Before calling a plumber, make sure that he is reliable and he will invest enough time to solve the problem so that it doesn?t reoccur.

How to Handle Burst Pipes:

Handling burst pipe is not that difficult. Though you are unaware of the technicalities you can always follow some basic tips to handle the situation initially before the plumber arrives. The first thing to keep in mind is that you should not panic. If you do the work with calm head you can achieve your goal. Firstly see that the water doesn?t flow beyond the leak point. For this you need to turn off all the stop valves. If you feel that turning off the stop valves has not been effective then open all the cold water taps immediately. This will drain out the storage as well as the pipe work system. Make sure that you don?t turn on any hot taps. Turning of the electric immersion heater is also very important. These are the steps that you can take of your own.

How to Handle Frozen Pipes:

Just as you have handled burst pipes you can also handle frozen pipes if you keep in mind the following tips. In case of frozen pipe you should turn off the main source of water supply first. Turn off the stop valve immediately. It is usually present under the kitchen sink. If you don?t find any such valve there then you should try to turn off the external valve mostly present in the garden.

Handling frozen pipes can be difficult when you find that none of the internal or external valves is working. When you see that the frozen pipes are neither controlled by the external valve nor by the internal valve, then they must be controlled by one of the storage cisterns. Another important thing to check is that whether any of the pipes has split or not. If you find a split pipe empty the cold water storage cistern immediately. You can do that by running the cold water taps, or else you can flush the WC. If the pipe is still intact you can easily control the situation.

While you can handle the situation initially it is important that you call a professional to get rid of the problem in long term. There are a number of commercial plumbing service providers and they charge high payment rate for emergency services. You can go online and compare the charges asked by different companies. You can also narrow down your search by mentioning the place. For example if you live in Atlanta you can use keyword like Commercial Plumbing Services Atlanta. This will help you to get an idea about the kind of service a company provides and what is their service charge.

It is definitely unwise to burn a hole in your pocket when you can avoid one. It is also desirable to be sure that you need a professional plumber.

Following instances help to know the right times you need to dial a professional.

Any work on the gas lines must be handled by a plumber licensed to work with gas. The toolbox of a licensed plumber comprise of proper pressure-testing equipment that would ensure no leak in the line goes unidentified. You cannot expect to fix such a problem yourself, as sometimes, the leak is so insignificant that can only be known by odor only.

Any work with the sewer and water mainlines should always be left for the professionals to handle. These jobs also invite use of special equipment, like street key and sewer snake. Though the equipment may be hired by a confident homeowner, only a professional plumber would ensure quickest detection and fixing of the problem.

A drain you are unable to unclog is apparently an issue of attention for a professional plumber. Slowly pouring hot vinegar down the drain, followed by hot boiling water after 20 minutes, may help you unclog a greasy drain. A drain cleaner easily available from any grocery/departmental store can get rid of any hair mass stuck in the drain. However, if you have already tried all these tricks but to no avail, better call the pro!

Any pipes leaking because they are cracked or frozen should be handled by calling a plumber. Unthawing a frozen pipe by a na