You’re home from vacation to find your basement has flooded. You’re due to host a huge family event but your backyard is overflowing with sewage. You never really realize how important plumbing is until you have to go without the basic necessities. When things go wrong, when you least expect it, an emergency plumber is your best line of defense.
Not every situation requires an emergency call. Emergency plumbing services can be quite expensive, and if you can come up with a stop-gap solution to the immediate problem you’re better off waiting until business hours to make an appointment with your regular plumber.
And then there are those situations that require immediate attention.
Blocked Drains
If your bathroom sink wont drain, your first step should be to turn on the tap in the tub. If the tub isn’t draining, this can’t be fixed by clearing hair and debris from the pop-up that stops the sink, and you’ll need an emergency plumber to root out the problem.
In some cases, the clog can be a result of hair and debris that is trapped further down the pipe, which can possibly be cleared by snaking the drain. In other instances, the problem may be further down the line, and the technician will need to send a camera down the drain to see just where the clog is and decide how to proceed.
In older houses with copper pipes, common clogs are a result of the root system from nearby trees infiltrating and cracking the pipe. In newer houses with PVC pipping, overtime the plastic can develop a bend. Water and grease can pool in the bend and harden, creating a blockage that can’t be fixed by snaking. In both cases, if the clog can’t be flushed, the solution may be to completely replacing the affected length of pipe, a labor intensive and costly procedure.
Frozen Pipes
If you come home from a winter vacation and notice your water is not running, you could be dealing with frozen pipes. When water pipes sit too close to uninsulated areas during the cold months, you run the risk of them bursting and filling the area with ice cold water that can cause serious damage to walls, floors, and furniture. This is exactly why we have insurance, but it doesn’t make dealing with the aftermath any less of a hassle.
For a frozen pipe, an emergency plumber will come in with specialized equipment to defrost the it. At this point, they will give you a few options to keep this from happening again: 1) Insulate the pipe, 2) reroute the pipes or 3) wrapping the pipe with heat conducting wire.
Even if you aren’t lucky enough to catch the problem before it turns into a disaster, locate the water meter and shut off the valve to keep the situation from getting worse.
Flooding
Often in older homes, the weeping tile around the foundation – whose sole purpose is to funnel water away from the house – may be connected to the pipe that goes to the sewer. During heavy rains, any blockage in that pipe can cause large amounts of water to flow upward into your house through the lowest fixture, which could be a floor drain or even a downstairs bathroom. Because of the potential for hazardous material to come back up into the house, this situation needs to be regulated immediately. An emergency plumber will snake the drain to stop water from backing up into the house, assist with cleanup, and then can offer an opinion on how to rectify the problem so it doesn’t happen again.
Everyone hopes they’ll never have to make that call, but having the number of a professional and trustworthy emergency plumber handy can make you the hero of the day. Brian Hayes Plumbing is one of Durham Region’s most trusted & experienced plumbing companies. With our fleet of seven fully stocked service vehicles, we are able to provide quick response throughout the Durham Region.
