Top ten plumbing emergencies and how to avoid or fix them

Top ten plumbing emergencies and how to avoid or fix them

No doubt at some stage of living in a home you’ve come across a plumbing emergency. They can be as subtle as a damp patch in the ceiling that takes you a while to notice, or can be as scary as a gas leak or busted pipe meaning the potential for damage to your home is a very high possibility.

If you find yourself in a plumbing emergency, the first thing to remember is try and not panic (I know this is easier said than done when you’ve got a jet of water shooting out of your wall!) but if you read up about potential plumbing emergencies and have a vague plan of what you’re going to do when they happen, you’re probably more prepared than most!

Below are some of the top plumbing emergencies we see in Brisbane to give you an idea of what can potentially happen around your home.

#1 Leaks and Cracked Pipes

This is probably one of the most common problems we see around the home. The first thing you will need to do is find out if you indeed have a leak.

This is easily done by going out to your water meter and take a reading of your current water usage, then go back inside and turn off all taps, washing machines and dishwashers etc, make sure that no-one goes to the toilet or uses water for about ten minutes.

After this time go back out to your water meter and check the numbers again. If you’ve found that water is being used (depending on the size of the leak you might even see the meter ticking over as you’re looking at it), then it’s quite likely you have a leak.

What can be done about it?

The next thing to do is isolate where it’s coming from. If you’ve turned off all your taps etc, the first place I usually look is the toilets. Turn off the taps that connect the toilets to the wall and check your meter again.

Systematically go through your home turning off any taps that are connected to something that uses water and check your meter. If you’ve done that and you find you’re still using water it’s likely you have a leak in a pipe somewhere. The next thing to do is go through your home with a piece of paper towel and dab it onto pipes that lead into your sink, into your dishwasher, etc.

What you’re looking for is for the paper towel to become damp. If you wipe it on a pipe and it comes away wet, there’s a good chance you’ve found the spot of your leak. Next walk around your yard and look for any obvious damp spots or places where plants seem to be doing unusually well.

If none of these things work, then it’s probably time to give us a call on 0412 634 599.

#2 Clogged Drains

If you think you’ve got a clogged drain, go on over to our article Everything you need to know about blocked drains that your plumber never told you and that should tell you pretty much everything you can do to try and clear a blocked drain.

If all else fails, give us a call!

#3 Blocked Toilet

There’s nothing worse than a backed up toilet, particularly if you only have one in the house! Chances are this will happen at the most inconvenient of times, like when you have visitors over or everyone in the house gets food poisoning!

If you’ve got a blocked toilet the first thing you will want to try is a plunger. These can be purchased at most hardware stores and plumbing supply shops. If the plunger doesn’t work you can try some of the methods in Everything you need to know about blocked drains that your plumber never told you but if they don’t work then it’s likely you have either a severe blockage or a pipe that has tree roots in it.

If this is the case, give us a call and we can get the drain snake to take a look at what’s going on in the pipe and come up with a solution for you.

#4 Broken or Leaking Tap

A leaking tap has the potential to waste hundreds of litres of water a day. We get a lot of people asking “how many litres of water does a leaking tap waste?” and the answer is always “it depends on how quickly it’s dripping” but be warned... if it is dripping, it’s wasting water.

Some estimates measure a dripping tap of potentially wasting up to 20,000 litres of water a year. That’s enough to fill up a swimming pool!

If you find a leaking or dripping tap in your home the first place to start is replacing the washer. If you’re not sure how to do this, there’s heaps of videos on Youtube about how to change a tap washer. If you need to replace the whole tap there’s also lots of videos about that too!

If you find your taps are still dripping after replacing them, there’s obviously something more sinister going on and it’s best to give us a call straight away.

#5 Burst Pipe

A burst pipe can be a nightmare to deal with. The first thing you will want to do is turn off your mains water. This will stop any potential damage happening to your home or yard.

How to deal with a burst pipe in your home

If you’ve got a burst pipe in your home this can be a messy and costly exercise if you don’t act quickly. Below are the steps you should take straight away if you have a burst pipe in your home:-

  • Turn off the mains water.
  • Drain water from your home by turning on taps and flushing toilets.
  • To be safe turn off the mains power (if this is wet DO NOT TOUCH IT - call a licensed electrician to come out and look at it).
  • Get a bucket to collect water from the leak (if possible).
  • Repair the pipe or if you’re unsure about how to do this (remember YouTube is your friend) then give us a call and we’ll be out ASAP to fix it – we service plumbing customers on Brisbane and in surrounding suburbs.

How to deal with a burst pipe in your yard

If you’ve got a leak in your yard the process is pretty similar to the above. If however you think that the leak could be coming from a mains supply please DO NOT DIG or mess around with the pipes as mains pressure water can be dangerous and even lethal. The best thing to do is to call your local council or water company and find out if they can get a team out there ASAP.

If you think a pipe has sprung a leak in your yard it’s time to do the following:-

  • Turn off the mains water.
  • Drain water from your home by turning on taps and flushing toilets.
  • To be safe turn off the mains power (if this is wet DO NOT TOUCH IT - call a licensed electrician to come out and look at it).
  • As a burst pipe is usually harder to get to, it’s a good idea to call a licensed plumber.

Depending on how deep the pipe is, what it’s made of and the type of ground that’s over the pipe, this can sometimes be a difficult and costly exercise. Hopefully when the plumber gets there it’s an easy job and the pipe is not difficult to get to.

So that concludes our tips to help you out in the top 5 plumbing emergencies we find in Brisbane.