A burst pipe or backed-up sewer can flood your home and rot the foundation before morning. When water is pooling or raw sewage is backing into your house, call us right now: a real person answers, and one of our plumbers will be at your door in about 45 minutes to shut off the water and fix the problem.
Look for a valve box in the ground near your property line or in the front yard. Flip or turn the valve handle perpendicular to the pipe. This stops water from flowing into burst pipes and prevents more damage while we're rolling.
Get furniture, documents, and boxes out of the direct flow. Throw down towels if water is actively running across the floor, but don't waste time here. The goal is to salvage what you can in the first few minutes.
Turn on a bathtub or sink to let trapped air and water escape the system. This can slow or stop the damage while you wait and gives you something concrete to do instead of watching water damage spread.
Standing water can hide broken glass or sharp pipe edges. If sewage is involved, stay clear: it carries dangerous bacteria. Rope off the room if you can.
Have someone meet the plumber at the door or gate. Let us know if the leak is in the main line, inside a wall, or under the foundation. The more you tell us on the phone, the faster we can fix it.
When a plumber arrives at your door, the first thing they do is locate the shutoff and confirm the water is off. Then they'll identify the burst, the active leak, or the blockage that brought us out. If a pipe has burst under the slab or behind a wall, we have camera equipment to find the exact spot. On a gas line, we check for odor and shut off the meter. On a sewer backup, we'll open a cleanout and run a camera or rooter to clear the blockage before it causes more sewage to back up into your drains.
Not all plumbing problems are emergencies. A slow drain, a dripping faucet, a faulty water heater that still produces hot water, or a running toilet are annoying and wasteful, but they don't flood the house or create health hazards. You can schedule those during business hours. An emergency is water spraying or pooling from a burst pipe, raw sewage coming up through your shower or tub, a gas smell near a line, a sump pump that has failed and flooded the basement, or water visibly pouring from your foundation.
The biggest mistake is waiting. Water finds its way into drywall, subfloors, and framing in hours, not days. Mold can set in within a week. Sewage backup is an immediate health threat to everyone in the house. If you see water or smell gas, don't shut the door and hope it stops. Call us now. We're awake, we're listening, and we move.
Nights, weekends and holidays cost the same as Tuesday morning. Call (831) 555-0130 and a Watsonville plumber picks up.