What to Do When You Have a Burst Pipe

What to Do When You Have a Burst Pipe: A Homeowner’s Guide

Imagine that one day you wake up to the sound of rushing water — and the sound is coming from inside the house. That sinking feeling as you go to investigate has already told you that it’s a burst pipe. You know that time is of the essence.

Maybe plummeting temperatures were too much for the pipes to bear. Perhaps there was excessive pressure in the system that led to failure of a pipe. Or it could be that the pipes are just so old that just about anything could lead to a catastrophic flow of water where it shouldn’t be.

No matter the reason, this is a household emergency. Your quick action can help you avoid water damage and high repair costs.

Why Do Pipes Burst?

A burst pipe can be a nightmare, especially if you aren’t at home when it happens. Sometimes you might know there is the potential for a burst pipe — that’s true during the coldest days of the year, when homeowners are advised to turn up the heat and keep the faucets dripping.

But it could also come out of nowhere. Issues with water pressure could put too much stress on the system and lead to a burst pipe. Corrosion of old pipes could mean that they simply fail, having outlived their expected lifespan. There could even be problems that arise from a sudden and unexpected event, such as an earthquake that rattles that ground hard enough to break pipes in your home or underground.

While regular maintenance can help avoid some of these issues, others could appear without warning. Here’s what to do when you hear that tell-tale sound of rushing water in your home.

9 Essential Steps to Take When a Pipe Bursts

When a pipe bursts in your home, time is of the essence. It is vitally important to swing into action immediately, and that starts with turning off the water supply to the home. Once that’s done, you can assess the damage and plan out your next steps.

1. Turn Off the Main Water Supply

This is the first and most crucial part of stopping the problem. Don’t try to tackle anything about the pipe itself until you have turned off the water supply. The main water supply valve will likely be outside your home, perhaps on a pipe going into the house or just underground, usually covered by a utility cover of some sort.

Turn off the water and come back into the house to make certain it’s off. You can do this by looking at the burst pipe — there should be no water flowing. If you can’t see the pipe, listen for it. The sound of running water should not be happening if the water main is turned off.

It’s very important to find the water supply valve right now — today. When time is of the essence, you don’t want to have to search for it. Not only should you locate it right now, but write down the location so that others in the household can find it too.

2. Drain Remaining Water From the System

Now walk through the house and open up the faucets. This will drain any remaining water from the system and relieve the pressure. That means you won’t have worry about water leaking from somewhere else in the house while you deal with the problem at hand.

3. Turn Off the Electricity in Affected Areas

Water and electricity don’t mix well. Make sure that any area with a burst pipe has no electricity running to it. For example, if the pipe goes to your washing machine has burst, turn off the electric breaker (or pull the fuse) that goes to the washer and dryer. For even better safety, unplug the affected appliance.

But please note: If there is standing water near the breakers or fuse box, cut off the power at the main breaker. If you can’t do this, call the electric company for immediate assistance.

4. Contain the Water and Protect Belongings

A burst pipe can leave behind a mess that can quickly destroy your belongings. Clean up the water right away. If you’re lucky, that means you are using towels to absorb water. In a not-so-lucky situation, you are working with a wet/dry vacuum or calling in the experts with their stronger tools, vacuums, and dryers to get the water out of your home.

Move any belongings that haven’t been damaged to an area where the water won’t reach them. Use your best judgment when choosing what can be salvaged, keeping in mind that anything exposed to water must be thoroughly dried to avoid mold problems later.

5. Locate and Inspect the Burst Pipe

Sometimes the burst pipe is quite obvious and you can see the problem — this might be the case with a burst pipe under the kitchen sink, for example. But sometimes the pipe is behind drywall, under the floor, or even behind (or under!) concrete.

In those cases, the best you can do is locate the general area and point the plumber to that area when they arrive. They’ll take the situation from there.

6. Call a Professional Plumber

This is a job for a pro. Call a professional who can assess the situation, provide you with an estimate, and get started to fix the problem. Hopefully it will be a quick and easy pipe replacement or repair, but if the problem is under the floor or in the walls, you’re looking at something much more extensive. The plumber will tell you what to expect.

7. Document the Damage for Insurance

If you intend to file a claim with your insurance company, start documentation right away. That includes taking video and pictures of the affected area and keeping a list of the things you did to mitigate the damage, such as turning off the water (note the time you did it), what the conditions were like around the pipe when the incident occurred, and anything else that crosses your mind.

It’s important to document like crazy to help ensure that if your problem qualifies under your insurance policy, there will never be any question you did what you could to remedy the problem.

8. Begin the Drying and Cleanup Process

Once the pipe is fixed, it’s time to clean things up. Your plumber will clean up quite a bit of what they had to do to reach the pipe — for instance, they are likely to discard the drywall for you, or at least move it to an outside area where you can dispose of it later.

Even if the area looks dry, you can bet there is still some moisture there, and that moisture is a breeding ground for mold. It’s incredibly important to make sure all the moisture is gone. That might mean running heavy-duty fans for several days or even weeks, depending upon how deep and widespread the water damage is.

9. Discard Damaged and Ruined Items

Unfortunately, water wreaks havoc on many things, especially those things that are hard to dry out. This might include furniture, carpeting, and drywall. You might also have other items that are ruined, such as clothing or household goods. This is more likely to be true if you had a burst pipe that you didn’t catch quickly, and the water was allowed to spread and lead to mildew and mold.

How to Prevent Future Burst Pipes

When it comes to burst pipes, the phrase an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure has never been more apt. These tips can help you prevent burst pipes:

Insulate the Pipes: Many burst pipes occur during the winter, when the temperatures were simply too much for the pipes to handle. Freeze-thaw cycles over the years can gradually weaken the pipes, making them much more susceptible to breaks. Wrap insulation around the pipes to help protect them.
Use Heat Tape: If you have a pipe that runs along the outer wall of your home, it might be more likely to suffer the consequences of cold weather. Heat tape wrapped around the pipe during the coldest nights can provide a little edge of security.
Keep the Temperature Steady: According to Consumer Reports, 55 degrees Fahrenheit is the minimum to set your thermostat during the winter when you are away from home. This will help prevent freezing pipes. When you are home, keep the house comfortable for you. During the coldest nights, it can help to open the cabinet doors to allow more heat to circulate.
Opt for Regular Inspections: You should always inspect your water pipes if you suspect a problem, but it’s important to look at them at other times too. Make it a habit to visually inspect your pipes anytime you happen to be near them — for instance, take a moment to scan the pipes under the sink whenever you open the cabinet doors. You can also have an annual inspection with your local plumber to spot problems before they become serious.
Jump Into Home Maintenance: If you notice a leak in the pipes, fix that right away. While it might seem like a slow leak is just something you can handle when you get to it, keep in mind that what is a tiny leak right now (and wasting a lot of water!) can turn into a serious break in an instant. Maintain your pipes by calling the plumber anytime you notice a problem.
Consider an Alarm: Though an alarm can’t prevent a burst pipe, it can certainly help you avoid some water damage. Small, battery-powered alarms that detect moisture can be placed near any appliance that might leak. Your home security system might have options for water monitoring — check with the company to see what’s available to you.

Why Burst Pipe Repairs Require a Professional

While fixing a small leak might be well within the skills of a handy homeowner, fixing a burst pipe is a different story. There is often a great deal of potential water damage when a pipe breaks, which means that time is of the essence and professional help is necessary. Fixing the pipe will require a contractor who has solid experience with plumbing and can handle not only replacing the pipe but also making sure that other areas of the piping system didn’t get damaged when the pipe burst.

9 Things You Should Do When You Have a Burst Pipe in Your Home