Six Emergency Plumbing That Require Professional Plumbers
By Team Jamark Plumbing
If you think about it, not all plumbing problems are “emergencies”. For smaller plumbing problems, you could wait a few days until your local plumber arrives at your place. If the situation is urgent, it’s wise to contact an experienced professional to inspect, report and repair the issue immediately.
A trustworthy, professional plumbing company (like ours: Jamark Plumbing) will provide support when you are in limbo, any day of the week. Our business hours are 7.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Outside these hours, we have an after hour emergency plumbing team on standby to take immediate action if plumbing issues arise.
Plumbing emergencies that might require urgent attention:
- Restoring water to the property.
- Placing measures to restrain water damages to the property.
- Restoring water connections to protect occupants and public’s health.
By being aware of these points, you’ll have a clear understanding of when to call an emergency plumber and when to call a plumber for a routine inspection.
Signs of Plumbing Emergencies:
- Blocked Sewer Drain
- Busted Sewage pipe
- Blocked Toilet
- Gas leaking
- No access to water
- No access to hot water
- Gushing leaks (burst water pipe)
- Constant Roof or ceiling leakage
Once you feel the impact of a plumbing emergency, it’s important to have quick access to your local plumbing company’s contact detail. You’ll be able to quickly respond to situations and minimise the damage to your property as quickly as possible. So make sure you have easy access to the contact details in your home and also include an action steps in place to combat plumbing emergencies.
Plumbing Emergencies that require an immediate phone call:
1. Drain blocked Badly
Does your drain make a clunky noise when it slowly tries to drain the waste? The odds are it may gradually become a badly blocked drain, and you’ll require a professional plumber to sort it out.
Bathroom for instance, if you think about it, the soap, shampoo, conditioner we use for hygiene purposes are common waste that goes down the shower drains or bathtubs leading to clogged drains – something we’ve all experienced at one point or another.
With kitchen drains, the blockage usually develops at the trap. The major culprits that often cause blockages are food wastages, grease and oils, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, and kitchen twines. It’s important to keep in mind that only water and suds should be going down the drain from washing the dishes or hands.
These particular situations can be rather worrying; when all the bathroom and kitchens drains lead to the main drain. The waste accumulated together can cause a massive but rather immovable blockage which cannot be cleared easily by a person. Thankfully, an expert plumber can skilfully clear this problem.
Overall, a blocked drain could also be a sign of your main drain being clogged. In this case, anything you flush down the drain won’t be able to move through the pipes, causing the waste to start coming back up through the drain.
Causes of clogged main drain:
- All plumbing fixtures blocked at the same time.
- Outdoor gully is overflowing.
- Water seepage on concrete walls.
- Garden uncommonly soaking.
- Unusual waste smell.
- Water & waste overflow through grates, floor or gutters.
2. Toilet Overflowing
Clogged toilets can be a real nuisance! Not only do they cause water to overflow, but they can also lead to sanitation issues and water damage to other parts of your house.
When you face a blocked toilet issue, immediate action is necessary. It is quite common for foreign objects, such as “flushable” wipes, sanitary pads, nappies, kitty litter, and make-up pads to be mistakenly flushed down the drain. Blockages like these objects may require an experienced plumber to unclog them.
Sometimes, a blocked drainage system can also be caused by an invasive tree roots. These roots purposely get through small cracks in the sewage lines to absorb nutrients from rich water. Absorbing the nutrients causes the roots to enlarge themselves and outgrow through your pipes.
Call your local plumber company if your toilet is having a hard time to flush, flushes half-way through, or the nasty waste is coming up the toilet. Signs like these indicate that your toilet is working harder than usual to get rid of waste water. It’s essentially a plumber who handles this task at hand.
Major health hazards can arise if waste water flowing out of the toilet is not handled promptly. Flooding can come into effect around the bathroom and possibly different spaces in the home. You’ll not only require an experienced plumber, but also a cleaning company to look after the issue.
Remember to never throw unusual items other than toilet paper down your toilet. No matter if the item feels like it can be thrown in the toilet, you should never condone it. Otherwise, you’ll have your toilet overflowing!
If you’re experiencing a clogged or overflowing toilet, don’t hesitate to contact a professional emergency plumber in Hamilton or dial Jamark Plumbing’s team at 0800 526 275. We’ll be more than happy to help!
3. Burst water Pipes Or Decayed Flexible Hoses
Water damage can be caused by high pressure or decaying flexible hoses. It can cost over thousands of dollars if the water bursts out of the hose. If left unattended for hours, your entire home will be flooded with hundreds of litres of water.
Similar scenarios can occur with multi-storey homes and apartment block. If a flexible hose bursts on a fourth level bathroom, you could be swimming in the home. Apartment blocks can be severely damaging your apartment, neighbours, and the whole building if no one noticed the extent.
To prevent this, flexible hoses or your property must be inspected regularly to ensure their pristine working condition. Professional plumbers usually inspect for things like the kinks in the binding wires of stainless steel, rust, minor leakages, and tiny puddles in or around the space of the flexible hose.
In New Zealand, flexible hoses are professionally installed and also come with an expiry date tag on them as well. If the tag isn’t there or the time has expired, we highly recommend contacting a local plumber to make sure all your flexible hoses are safe.
Well done to you for keeping your home safe by inspecting your flexible hoses! We strongly suggest that you take a look at them every year for any signs of damage, weakening or wear.
Nevertheless, In the case of a burst pipe or flexible hose, it is important to turn off the main water supply. Doing so will ensure that the remaining water runs out, and help reduce the extent of damage. After taking this action, It’s best to seek assistance from a professional emergency plumber in Hamilton.
4. Hot water Heater Damaged
Do you notice these signs of hot water heater being damaged?
• Water cold or too hot
• Nasty Odours of the water
• Water is lightly brown colour
If you notice any of these signs, the odds are your hot water heater needs to be serviced or replaced.
If you ever find yourself with a hot water heater emergency, such as the hot water heater bursts, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team on 0800 526 275. Our Hamilton expert emergency plumbers can take action quickly and safely to your home.
If your hot water heater bursts or if you want to be ready for such an event in future, here are some steps you can take right away:
1. Shut off main water supply or hot water tap
If the hot water heater leaks, shutting off the main water supply is essential. Performing this step will reduce the flooding risks and prevent significant damage to your property and personal items. It’s important to note that flooding could happen quickly since the water is still trying to enter the tank.
Thankfully, there’s an isolation valve that supplies water directly to the hot water heater. If it’s not accessible, you can also turn off the main line which supplies all the water to your property.
Note: It’s highly advisable to take a few minutes to fill up your bottles, kettle and jugs before turning off the main water supply. This will ensure that you have enough water for drinking and cooking for several hours.
It’s important to be aware that some water could still be leaking out of the tank even after you finish. However, if you can identify the source of the leak, you can always collect that water using a bucket.
For these next steps, identify if your water is supplied through electricity or gas. Identifying this will help you choose the next steps during gas leak emergencies.
2. Switch off the hot water button from the electric switchboard
Remember to turn off the hot water switch at the electric switchboard if your hot water is powered by electricity. You will likely find it labelled as ‘Hot Water,’ ‘HWS,’ or something similar. Please ensure it is securely switched to OFF.
This step is absolutely essential as it will cut off the power to the hot water tank and protect you from any potential electric shocks.
3. Turning off gas supply to the hot water system
If your home’s hot water is supplied by gas, switch off the gas tap right away. The water is in the tank will not be heated further and highly reduces the chances of more gas leaking. Utilising this step will secure the surroundings of your home, keeping you and your family members safe while the plumber is on its way.
4. Removing home furniture or personal items impacted by the flood water
It’s a smart idea to take the necessary precautions if water starts rising rapidly. Removing any furniture or personal possessions as soon as possible should reduce the damage done by the flooding water. You can rest easy knowing your items are secured and haven’t been put at risk during an emergency like this.
Place your furniture items far away from the home entrance, so that the plumbing crew have easy access to get in and for your family to vacate the property.
5. Call Professional Plumbers in Hamilton & Waikato
Our team of friendly and certified plumbers are equipped to handle broken hot water heaters and other areas affected from water damage. They are also proficient in sharing their expertise, guidance, and help their customer throughout the whole process, which starts when you call Jamark Plumbing. Jamark Plumbing provide Hamilton customers with a reliable and flexible 24/7 emergency plumbing service to ensure that any unexpected hot water tank burst is handled in the quickest possible time. Not only this, but our services are available every day of the year, even on public holidays! (Note: Call out fees apply after work hours)
5. Water Leakages
It’s important to pay attention to the water pipes and appliances replying for water in your home. While some leaks may seem small and insignificant, ignoring them can cause major damage over time and lead to costly repairs.
Is your water bill seeming unusually high? That could be an indication that there may be a water leak somewhere in the house. It is important to find this source and repair it in order to save on future costs. Hamilton plumbers are experienced in detecting and resolving water leaks. If you notice any of the potential signs, such as water drips, water stains, dampness, unexplained mould and puddles of water, call for a professional plumbing company right away to get it taken care of.
6. Gas Leakages
Plumbing emergencies can be extremely harmful, and a gas leak is a major one among them. Gas leak is one of the most major plumbing emergency you could face in your home.
If you smell gas out of nowhere home, have an immediate check on all the gas appliances. Turning off the gas ring and open windows to let fresh air in the home. Fresh air will disperse the gas, but if you notice a constant smell of gas and the carbon monoxide levels keep rising, it’s best to quickly leave the area and call an emergency plumber.