Do these four things now
- Shut off the main water valve: It’s usually where the supply pipe enters the house, often near a front hose bib or in the garage. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
- Turn off the water heater: set a gas heater to pilot, or switch off the breaker for an electric heater, so the tank doesn’t heat while it’s empty.
- Cut power to anything wet: if water is near outlets, appliances or the electrical panel, switch off that circuit at the breaker, but only if you can reach the panel without standing in water.
- Open a faucet at the lowest point: An outside hose bib works well, because draining the lines reduces the water that keeps escaping.
Once the water has stopped, call us and describe what happened, and you don’t need to know which pipe failed. Our line is answered from 9am to 5pm. Outside those hours, shutting the main valve off is what limits the damage until someone can get to you.
If you smell gas instead
Leave the house right away, and don’t use light switches, phones or anything that could spark on your way out. Once you’re outside and away from the building, call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 or dial 911. A plumber can repair the gas line once the utility has made it safe.
What usually fails
Most indoor floods in older Whittier homes come from a small number of places, and knowing them helps you describe the problem when you call.
- Braided supply hoses under sinks, toilets and on the washing machine, which can split with age
- Old galvanized pipe that has thinned from the inside and finally gives way at a threaded joint
- Water heaters at the end of their life, where the tank rusts through at the bottom
- Pinhole leaks in copper lines, sometimes inside a wall or under the slab
- Hose bibs and irrigation lines outside, which can leak into the foundation for weeks before anyone notices
What the plumber will do
The first job is to make the house safe and dry enough to work in. The plumber finds the failed section, isolates it and then gets water back to the rest of the house whenever possible.
For a burst section, that usually means cutting out the damaged pipe and joining in new pipe with proper fittings. If the failure is on old galvanized or corroded copper, the plumber may warn you that the next joint along is likely to go too. That’s a fair point to weigh later, once the emergency is over, rather than a decision you need to make at midnight.
Expect the plumber to explain the fix and the price before starting. If you’re told the whole house needs repiping on the spot, it’s reasonable to accept a temporary repair now and get a second quote for the bigger job.
Emergency costs in Whittier
Emergency pricing usually moves with these factors:
- The time of the call, since nights, weekends and holidays often cost more
- How easy the failed pipe is to reach, whether in a cabinet, a wall or under the floor
- The pipe material and how many fittings the repair needs
- Whether the plumber has to open drywall or ceiling to reach the leak
Ask whether there’s a separate call-out fee, and get the total for the repair in writing before work starts.
After the water stops
Take photos of the damage before you clean up, because insurers often ask for them. Move rugs and furniture off wet floors and run fans to start drying. Wet drywall and carpet pad can grow mold within a couple of days, so if a large area got soaked, a water damage company may be worth calling as well.
Then look at why it happened. A single failed hose is a cheap fix, but a burst in old galvanized pipe is a warning about the rest of the system.
Getting ready before anything goes wrong
- Find your main shutoff today and make sure it turns, then show everyone in the house where it is.
- Replace rubber washing machine hoses with braided ones, and check under-sink hoses for bulges.
- Know which breaker controls your water heater, or where the gas valve is.
- Save our number in your phone, so it’s there when you need it.
