New Westminster Plumbing Guide: What to Do if a Pipe Bursts
If you live in a cold climate, you are more likely to have experienced the disaster of a frozen pipe bursting. There are other causes of burst pipes, so rest assured you are not alone; plenty of New Westminster homeowners have had to face a burst pipe as well.
When this happens, there are three fronts on which to attack the problem: stopping the flooding, repairing the pipes and preventing future bursts.
Before doing anything else, you need to stop the flooding in your house. Start by turning off the water supply, either to that pipe or to the whole house. It doesn’t matter which, as long as it’s shut off. Turn on cold water taps around the house to drain remaining water from the pipes. Turn off the water heater. This will at least prevent the flood damage from being too extensive.
Get a sump pump and or some absorbent material to start sopping up the water that leaked into your home, then call a plumber. The pipe and fitting will need to be replaced, and some adjacent ones may need to be as well, so the best solution here is just to call in a professional rather than try to do it yourself. The last thing you need is another burst pipe.
Finally, prevent future breaks in pipes by implementing some of these strategies:
» Insulate your pipes
» On cold days, keep your pipes warmer by opening up doors to the attic or basement
» When going away in the winter, shut off the water supply and drain the plumbing system
By keeping your pipes as warm and insulated as possible, you decrease the likelihood that the water within will freeze, potentially causing a leak or break in the pipe. Burst pipes are not necessarily completely preventable, so it is important that you now know what to do if and when a pipe bursts in your New Westminster home.
Water damage, especially flooding, can cause serious trouble in your home, so everything you can do to prevent and mitigate the risk is a good step.