A burst pipe is definitely a home emergency, and the water released into your home from a pipe which has burst has plenty of potential to cause real damage to your home and its contents if you do not act fast. A burst pipe should be dealt with as quickly as possible, and if you’ve found yourself in a situation where a pipe has burst for whatever reason, it’s important that you know exactly which steps to take in order to make sure that the leak does not get worse or cause any further unnecessary damage to your property or contents. We’ve listed the essential steps to dealing with a burst pipe that any homeowner should know.

Upon discovering a burst pipe, the first thing that you should do is turn off the water supply. You can do this by turning off your main stop tap, which is normally found under the kitchen sink, and then moving on to turning off the water from the main stopcock, which you will find in your home’s cold water tank. Switching the water off at the mains is very important as this will prevent any further water from feeding into the pipes and causing more damage to your home.

Another thing that you should definitely take into consideration during the event of a burst pipe is turning off the electricity. If there is any chance that the water could have or will leak onto any electrical wiring or products, switching your home’s electricity supply off at the mains will prevent any further problems. If there is a chance that any electrical sockets or wiring has gotten wet, it’s important to avoid touching them as they can be highly dangerous.

Once you have prevented any further damage by turning off the water and ensured your safety by turning off the electricity supply, you should call a professional plumber who will be able to come out and assess the damage in order to repair it. You should consult a plumber before the water is turned back on in order to make sure that there are no further pipes about to burst and that the leak has been repaired in the one which was causing problems. It’s also a good idea to contact a slab leak detection specialist who will be able to audit your home for any further potential leaking or burst pipes.

Once you have gotten the main issues of water and electricity out of the way and have been given the all-clear by a plumber and an electrician, you will need to check your property for water damage. Depending on the amount of water leaked and how quickly you responded to the issue, your property could suffer varying amounts of damage from a burst pipe. One of the most important areas to check is the ceilings; if ceilings are bulging significantly from pooling water, they could collapse.

Burst pipes can cause serious damage, so it’s vital to know how to deal with them!