The Most Common Plumbing Emergencies and How to Fix Them

Emergencies neither respect business hours nor wait for your holidays to end. This applies to plumbing emergencies as well. A single leak in a pipe might sound like a lot to worry about, but if it’s middle of the night and you don’t have a plumber’s contact number on speed dial, you might incur huge property losses.

A back-flowing toilet seat, for example, doesn’t just dirty your bathroom floor with sewerage, but can also go on to ruin your carpets.

All of this can be quite a nuisance and isn’t always manageable without help from an expert plumber. We’ve listed down a few common plumbing emergencies that must be fixed immediately by a plumber before all hell breaks loose around your house.

Overflowing toilet

An overflowing toilet can be one of the nastiest things you have to deal with. If your toilet is overflowing, it’s either blocked by something or is clogged. Toilets are clogged mostly when you flush the wrong things down the drain; for instance, plastic bags, sanitary products, or solid objects.

 

This blockage prevents water from flushing down, and as a result, it overflows. Other reasons could be dysfunctional plumbing, sewage backups, and low flow toilets. At times, it’s not the toilet that’s clogged, but the sewage pipes through which the water leaves your house. If one of these pipes gets obstructed, the water builds up and the toilet overflows.

What you get is water seeping down the ceiling, a ruined bathroom floor, mold on carpets, stagnant water in the basement, and damage to furniture.

Gas Leaks

Gas leaks are a common problem throughout the US. This one is a particularly sensitive emergency since neglect can lead to a loss of lives. Common signs of an impending gas leak are:

• Smell of rotten eggs coming off the area
• A whistling sound coming from the gas pipes or the stoves
• Dead houseplants
• Bubbles in water
• Appearance of a white cloud of gas near the pipelines

 

In case of any of these signs, the first thing you need to do is open up the windows. Gas leaks are more dangerous when the gas is trapped. Secondly, evacuate and quickly call 911 for help.

Once the gas company declares it to be safe, you’ll need a plumber’s assistance in fixing the leak. Plumbers are well aware of how to deal with all sorts of sewerage gases. They’ll not just quickly detect the leak, but will also repair or replace the gas line, depending on the damage.

Clogged sinks

Both the kitchen and bathroom sinks are excessively used every day. If one of them gets clogged and refuses to drain, you can’t wash your face, brush your teeth, or even do the dishes. In short, a lot of your everyday chores get delayed.

The biggest problem with clogged drains is that they start off with slow drains. Most of us tend to ignore slow drains because they don’t come off as an emergency. But over time, slow drains give rise to a bigger problem and completely block water flow.

This mostly happens if you drop greasy stuff and solid material which you’re not supposed to. Since unclogging a sink needs special equipment, practice, and expertise, it’s almost impossible to do it on your own.

If you are based in Florida and find yourself in the middle of any of the above plumbing emergencies, feel free to call us up. At Your 1 Plumber FL, our experts are well trained to deal with leak detections, toilets, faucets, sump pumps, gas leaks, and many more. To book our services, give us a call at 561-403-1500. You can also contact us online.