What to Do When a Plumbing Emergency Hits

Are your toilets or sinks backing up? Is there water coming out of places it shouldn't be? Have you suddenly noticed a spreading water stain on a ceiling or a wet sinkhole in your front yard?

When a plumbing emergency hits, you need to know how to react to minimize damage. The following are tips our Charlotte emergency plumbers recommend for emergencies:

1. Shut Off the Water

You will need to find your water main shut off and turn off the water flowing to your home.  (Click here to learn how to locate your shut off.)

If you know what the source of the leak is (let's say it's a toilet or water heater or washing machine), find the local shut off inside your home, and shut off the water to the specific appliance or area that is leaking. (Click here to learn how to shut off the water to just your water heater.)

2. Open Your Clean Out Valve

If the problem is a backed up drain or toilet, where sewage is backing up into your home, find your clean out valve and open it up. (Click here to learn how to locate your clean out valve.) Your clean out valve will allow some of that nasty sewage to spill out into your lawn instead of backing up into your house. That is much easier to deal with than sewage all over your main floors.

3. Call an emergency plumber who can get to you right away.

I totally understand that you may want to replace a faucet by yourself or try to unclog a minor drain problem, but when you've got sewage backing up or water coming out somewhere, you need to get a plumber there immediately. Most people don't realize that property damage caused by sewage back ups or water damage can run into the thousands of dollars. We're talking replacing hardwood floors, drywall, beams, repainting, etc...

You want to get someone out there right away to figure out where the problem is originating and how to solve it before more damage has been done. We're open 24/7, 365 days a year, and we don't charge extra for evenings or weekends.

4. Prevent Water Damage.

While waiting, find ways to soak up water from vulnerable areas. Use old towels, blankets, etc. to limit the water damage.

Need a Charlotte Emergency Plumber?

We serve a 30-mile radius of the Charlotte area, so we act as Concord emergency plumbers, Mathews plumbers, Harrisburg plumbers... in other words, if you're within 30 miles of Charlotte, we'll take care of you. Just call 704-269-1066 or click here to use our online contact form for service.

Plenty of Technicians and Stocked Trucks

We've got a full staff and plenty of trucks, each of which are stocked with just about anything we could possibly need, meaning we usually are able to solve emergency plumbing problems on the first trip. We also own all our own heavy duty equipment (backhoes, etc.). No need to wait for us to rent the equipment, like many other companies do.

Excellent Pricing, Satisfaction Guaranteed

Our motto is, "Serviced once, client for life." We guarantee your satisfaction. Our owner, David Parker, has over 30 years plumbing experience. If you're not satisfied, talk to him, and he will make things right by you.

Testimonials From Satisfied Customers - See More at Review Buzz

By Debbie and Chuck T. on 09/14/15
When our water heater broke, we called a different plumber that made us wait all day to come by and give us an outrageous repair estimate. Meanwhile while wasting our day away on the other company, I called ER Plumbing. Deborah was so nice and gave me a quick guesstimate over the phone from my model description. (The other plumber couldn't do that without making a $99 service call to look at our broken water heater). We called her back on Monday morning and ER had Terry here by 11:00. Terry was so pleasant and professional. He did a fantastic job installing our new gas water heater. My husband is a commercial general contractor and he was extremely impressed with Terry's quality of work. It was perfect! When he left, the area where he installed the water heater was spotless. I highly recommend ER Plumbing and Terry. They are our plumber to call from any future needs.

By Taylor D. on 09/12/15
Lance was great! Fixed the problem, efficient and very professional. Will call them for all our plumbing needs. Thanks Lance.

By cay c. on 09/10/15
ER Plumbing called out to replace two 30 year old toilets and to investigate a problem with hot water heater. Very happy with the two new toilets and the installation. Regarding the water heater. Took the time to analyze and formulate a step by step approach to manage costs. Very happy with Terry the serviceman and the company customer service.

By Millie F. on 09/04/15
Had to have our hot water heater replaced and Garrett and Terry came out to our house to do the work. They were on time, courteous and respectful of our property. Would be happy to work with them again in the future. Cannot speak highly enough of the whole team at ER Plumbing; they immediately responded to our service request and have us back up and running with hot water!

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Article Summary

Quick question & answer: What is the best thing to do during a plumbing emergency?

The best thing to do during a plumbing emergency is to locate your water main shut off and turn off the water flowing to your home. If sewage is backing up into your home, open your clean out valve. Call an emergency plumber to help and soak up wet areas with towels.