subject: Emergency Plumbing [print this page] Emergency Plumbing Emergency Plumbing
Emergency Plumbing Suggestions
Where plumbing is concerned, it pays to know a couple of emergency procedures. A household where the water supply doesn't work at all - no washing machine, hot bath, or central heating is a point of crisis, especially throughout the cold winter months. But worse is really a situation where the water cannot be turned off, which will quickly lead to severe flooding. Read the advice below and learn how to cope with four frequent plumbing emergencies.
Attic Leaking Water
Turn the main stop-tap off. It is typically close to the kitchen sink (if you can't turn it off, see below) Put buckets under the leaks, then turn on all the cold taps inside the house and flush all of the WCs to drain the cold water storage cistern. Locate the cause of the trouble. It could be a burst pipe within the loft or a cistern overflow caused by a blocked overflow pipe.
Taps are Dry
If no water flows from the kitchen sink cold tap, check other taps in the building, check that the primary stop-tap is open. If is, call your water supply firm. You'll locate the number under "Water" inside the phone book. If no water flows from other taps, check the cold water cistern: it may possibly have emptied due to a jammed ball-valve. If it is empty, move the float arm sharply up and down to free the valve. Alternatively, in frosty weather there might be an ice plug blocking a supply pipe. If the kitchen cold tap is working, check the flow into the cold water cistern by pressing down the ball-valve. If there's no inflow, the rising principal is frozen, in all probability in the loft between the ceiling and cistern inlet. If the cistern is idling, check the bathroom taps. If there is no flow from one tap, its supply pipe from the cistern is frozen.
To thaw a pipe, strip off any lagging from the affected component and apply hot water bottles, If a pipe is difficult to get at blow warm air on to it with a hair dryer. Warning: Do not use a blowtorch to defrost a frozen pipe. It may well cause a fire, or melt the solder in a pipe joint and trigger another leak.
Water Cylinder is Leaking
Turn off the gate valve on the supply pipe from the cold water cistern to the hot water cylinder. If there's no gate valve, turn off the principal stop-tap and turn on all of the taps to empty the cistern. Switch off the boiler as well as the electricity in case you have exposed wires. Connect a hose to the cylinder drain valve (near the base of the cylinder where the supply pipe from the cold water cistern enters). Put the other end of the hose into an outside drain. Open up the drain valve with pliers (or a special drain valve key). Get the hot water cylinder repaired or replaced by a plumber.
Water will not turn off
If you can't turn off the water at the principal stop-tap, tie up the float arm in the cold water cistern to stop it filling, turn on all the taps (except the kitchen cold tap] and flush the WCs. Then call an emergency plumber.
There is also an outdoor stop-tap - usually under a modest metal plate in the pavement or driveway outside. In case you can't find or turn off the indoor stop-tap, then use this tap, but you'll need a unique stop-tap key for this.
