What are the Most Common Plumbing Emergencies?

It is hard to plan for emergencies, but you can help to reduce your own risk by trying to anticipate different scenarios. Most plumbing emergencies are caused by a few things.

What’s even more important is that preventative maintenance will greatly diminish the likelihood that most of these plumbing emergencies would ever happen to you. Here are the most common causes of plumbing emergencies:

Burst Pipe

If you’ve ever experienced a burst pipe, you know exactly how quickly it can happen and just how much major damage can happen in a short period of time.

There are a number of things that can cause a pipe to burst, but most often it is caused by pipe freezing. As the water freezes and thaws, the pressure inside the pipe is too great and the pipe bursts.

To keep your pipes from freezing, don’t turn your heat down too low, even if you are going on holidays. As an extra safe-guard, if you are going away, turn your water off.

Overflowing Toilet

A leaking toilet will produce a slow and steady amount of water over time. Not only does this increase your water bills, the water damage to your floor, wall, and ceiling is significant. This is also the prime circumstance for mold growth.

Similarly, if a toilet gets clogged and overflows, there can be all kinds of damage. Both of these plumbing emergencies can be avoided.

Avoid putting anything in the toilet that doesn’t belong there, like paper towels, diapers or sanitary napkins. If you suspect that you have a leaky toilet, call your Lombard, IL plumber to fix it quickly.

Blocked Drains

When your drains are blocked, there is nowhere for the water to go, which means that it lingers and in some cases.

Having a sink or shower out of service because of a clogged drain is very inconvenient, especially in high traffic areas in your home.

To avoid this plumbing emergency, prevent it from happening with maintenance. Don’t put scraps in your drains & put hair traps.

Leaky Fixtures

A leaky tap or other plumbing fixture may seem like no big deal, but if you leave it be you are looking at wasting all kinds of water, raising your water bills and, potentially, cause water damage.

This is precisely the kind of water damage that can cause rust and mold growth. The best course of action is to get a leaky fixture fixed as soon as you discover it.