Having a plumbing issue arise in your home is never fun, but having a major accident happen overnight may be even worse. Unless the situation is fixed pronto, then you could have a massive issue on your hands.
That’s why making an after hours plumbing call is so important. You will not only minimize the damage to your home — which could take a while to fix, depending on the severity — but if you catch it quick enough, you could also save money on your repair bills as well.
It may not be fun, but if you find yourself in any of the below situations, make sure you call a 24/7 emergency plumber as soon as possible.
Toilet Backing Up
Besides the fact that you’ll have an extremely gross smell in your house, a toilet that is backing up into your bathroom is a tell-tale sign that you need to call a professional.
If you’ve already tried to shut the water off and unclog it yourself using traditional DIY methods, then it’s time to schedule an emergency sewer service. Chances are you’ve got a clog inside the main sewer line that is leaving your house, which will require a technician to open up the line and clear the clog.
A toilet backing up into the shower is also a possibility (as is a toilet backing up into the bathtub). Though you can try to fix it yourself, it’s a pretty intensive process, and the longer you wait, the worse it could get.
Water Stains
Water leaks inside your house are never a good sign. If left untreated, they can cause massive amounts of water damage behind the walls of your house and can cost thousands of dollars to repair. That’s in addition to any mold that might appear as well.
If you see water spots starting to appear in your home, and it’s not during the “normal working hours,” you’ll need to contact an after hours plumbing service or a weekend plumber to get it taken care of. Shut the water off to the house first, if you can, then schedule your service.
Loss of Water Pressure in House
A sudden drop in water pressure can only mean a few things: Either your main water pipe has burst outside and is dumping water somewhere it’s not supposed to be, or you have lime deposits inside your pipes that have accumulated for so long that they’re choking off the water supply.
(Alternatively, your water valve may have been partially shut off, or you could have a clog that is localized to a single fixture, like the sink. If that’s the case, check the aerator or cartridge and clean it if necessary).
If you experience a sudden loss of water pressure though, chances are it’s a pipe that’s burst, and if that’s the case, you’ll need an emergency plumber right away. A broken water pipe can dump 10-12 gallons of water every single minute, which will turn a situation dire in a hurry.
Gas Leak
Homes that run on gas need to have a carbon monoxide detector in their home, period. Since gas can be hard to detect otherwise (even though it does have a slight odor), a home can fill up with gas quickly and could be lethal. On average, unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning is responsible for more than 400 deaths every single year.
A gas leak repair is not something you should try to do on your own; in some cases, it\’s even illegal to do so without a permit and license. Moreover, working on a gas line is extremely dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. In addition to the gas line deaths listed above, there are more than 4,000 gas fires in the home every year.
None of this takes away from the fact that having a gas leak inside your home is something to be taken seriously. Of all of the ones on this list that have the potential to damage your home, this is one that can seriously injure you and your family, or worse. If you suspect that there’s a gas leak inside your home, get it looked at by an emergency plumber immediately.
Did you know that Fountain Plumbing handles after hours plumbing emergencies in Tyler, TX and the surrounding areas? If you need our help for any of the above reasons, or any other that you can think of, give us a call today!