Water problems can be very serious. You will most certainly have a headache from them, and the damage they cause can hurt your wallet. Therefore, you need to know what you can do yourself in case of a pipe bursting and flood in your apartment.
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Do You Think About Water Pipes Before You Leave The House?
Sometimes you need to think twice before leaving your home or going on a longer vacation. That is the time we leave our home empty. In such situations, we usually have the same thoughts on our minds. We ask ourselves – did we lock the door, turn off the stove, turn off the boiler? Unfortunately, not many of us think about one of the most serious issues – the water. Depending on whether you live in a house or an apartment – you must also take care of water and plumbing.
Water – Greatest Friend And Enemy At The Same Time
Speaking of water – it has great significance and contribution to our lives. Water is an inevitable part of our lives. It serves us to freshen up, bathe, wash our clothes, water the garden, etc. However, although it has a good purpose – water can often be very unpredictable. We’ve all had unpleasant situations, at least once in our lives. You have probably faced a leaking tap, changing rubbers, a broken shower hose, changing water vents, etc. You will most certainly agree – the situation is not pleasant at all. Whatmore, you must know how to manage in such a situation.
It Won’t Happen To Me!
Certainly, for more serious issues we should call the plumber immediately. However, until the plumber arrives we must at least have general knowledge and react calmly without panicking. On the other hand, we should not be too relaxed and think “This will not happen to me”. Unfortunately, statistics deny us in these situations by saying otherwise, and for the most part, it is not mistaken. According to findwaterdamagerestoration.com, there is always a chance that your electric fuse breaks out, water may start to leak somewhere, some home appliance may break, etc. So keep that in mind. Emergency Plumber Toronto services have a lot of work since situations like these often happen on weekends, nights, or public holidays. Therefore, you should always keep their emergency phone number. Now, let’s think a bit more seriously about the space we live in. Whether we are alone or with a family – in the house or the apartment, we must know how to help ourselves when needed.
What Do We Need To Know In Advance?
When moving into a home or apartment, we need to know as much as we can about the facility where we’re going to spend the rest or at least part of our lives. The things you should bear in mind are the age of the building, the plans of installations that are very important, etc. One has to be careful and think ahead so that in the event of an accident, we can react quickly and know the complete layout of the plumbing and wiring in the house. This can prevent more damage if an accident occurs. You should pay attention to these things so that it won’t happen that we are too late to do something in case of an emergency.
Precautions
Precautions are of paramount importance for the safety of you and your family. Neither water nor electricity should be easily understood. If you live in an apartment building, always check with your neighbors to see if they have ever had a problem with the plumbing and what their experiences are. Ask your building manager about the main water supply valves in your building. Also, inquire whether the locations of the valves are accessible in the case of an emergency.
This Can Happen To Anyone
Imagine the following situation. It’s Sunday, a beautiful day, and you are at home enjoying yourself with your family. Everything points to another calm and cozy afternoon. You had lunch together, and now you’re enjoying watching TV. At one point, something gets your attention. You hear some crackling noise from the bathroom. These sounds are not loud at first, but then increasing and growing noises reach to you. You go to the bathroom to check up and realize that water is accumulating in the bathroom. You’re trying to figure out where the water is leaking from. The faucet on the sink does not leak, the toilet valve is also fine, and your bathtub doesn’t show that it is letting water out. But still, your bathroom is full of water. You realize that the situation is more serious and that it’s probably a burst pipe in one of the walls. You see that the water has found its way and it creates great problems.
What To Do?
You are trying to calm down and consider the situation well. If you live in Toronto or near surrounding – you will immediately call one of the on-call plumbing companies that, like www.GTARestoration.com, are 24 hours on duty. The plumbing service that you summoned is unable to arrive so quickly, and the water level is still rising. Therefore, many things are only up to you. React sensibly and stop the flow of water as soon as possible to try to prevent a major disaster in the apartment. But what can we do until the plumbing service arrives? The first thing to do as soon as possible is to close the main valve in the building or the main valve in your house. This will prevent the water from continuing to penetrate. Make sure to close all the valves in the apartment and prepare the ground for the plumber’s arrival. Do not try to look for the broken pipe yourself, as the water is unpredictable and finds its way outside the walls of your apartment. Therefore, let the professionals deal with it.
Arrival Of Plumbers
Nowadays, plumbers have specialized tools for finding faults in walls, and in places where broken pipes are not visible. Such places are generally inaccessible, so wall installations must be carefully inspected – part by part. Now let’s get you back to the beginning. We have told you that you need to find out the layout of your home or apartment installation, as this can help you detect the failure and start repair. You will not be thrilled with the work that will take place when the breakdown is established. That’s when the real plumbing work begins.
Plumbing Works
Depending on the room where the pipe broke (eg the bathroom) – first, the tiles should be removed on either side of the pipe crack. You should completely free the workspace around. You must also know what material your pipes are made of. Are they copper, plastic or iron? The speed of the repair will also depend on it. The plumber will certainly repair and replace the damaged pipe piece – which is also a goal to keep the problem from happening again.
What to Do After Repair?
After the plumber repaired the pipe, slowly release one by one the water valves in your apartment. Only at the very end will you release the main valve in the house. Do not immediately close a hole in the wall where you had a cracked pipe. Keep that hole open for a while to allow the wall to dry and also to see if the repair has been successfully completed.
In this case, it is good that you were at home and responded quickly.
Conclusion
These situations are very common and therefore we need to know how to react. We must remain calm in these situations and use our basic knowledge to prevent greater material damage. Consequently, we also facilitated the plumber’s access to the location where the fault occurred and quickly responded to the whole situation. Ultimately, your apartment is not damaged so much, and you have contributed to it with your quick response.