It's never a nice feeling when something goes wrong with your home, and it's an even worse one when it happens late at night. If you have a burst pipe, a detached radiator, a snapped tap, or any other kind of plumbing emergency outside of standard business hours, you're going to need to get in touch with an emergency plumber. Once you've done that, though, what should you do to secure the situation while you wait for them to arrive?

TOP PRIORITY: Turn Off The Water!

The very first thing you should do—ideally before you even phone the emergency plumber—is to turn off the mains water supply leading to your home. In most properties, this is relatively easy to find: if you don't know where it is, look for a tap on a brass pipe. It's probably near your front door. If it isn't there, check where your gas supply valve is as they're often close to each other.

Can't Do That? Stem The Leak As Best You Can

If you can't find it or if it is inaccessible in some way, your top priority should be to stem the water flow as thoroughly as possible. The best way to do this is usually simply by wrapping as many towels as you can find as tightly as possible around the source of the water and setting up a series of bowls and buckets to catch any drips that come from those towels once they're in place.

Get You & Your Household As Clean, Dry & Safe As Possible

With the water reduced to at least a calmer level, ensure that you and everyone in your household are as warm, as dry and as safe as you can be. If you do have animals, it's a good idea to shut them out of the room where the leak has occurred.

Clear Up As Much Water As You Can

Standing water in your home is unhygienic and treacherous, not to mention seriously damaging to many of your home's elements. Mop it up as best you can, and take special care to ensure that composite wooden or laminate flooring is as dry as possible—standing water can be especially problematic if left on them unattended for any length of time. The damage could be permanent if you don't catch it quickly.

Once all this is done, you can settle in and wait for your emergency plumber to arrive. If they can't solve the problem that night, they will at least make sure the situation is safe for you to leave it while you sleep and get someone to come back in with the right tools and parts the following morning. For more information, contact local professionals like Sam's Local Plumbing.

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