A Step by Step Guide to Leaks

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You can hear the faint dripping in the other room. Whether you’re on your phone or a laptop, you’re stressed out trying to determine the next steps and you’re worried about what might happen if this leak keeps going. Are your family heirlooms stored in that room going to be destroyed? Are you going to have to pay thousands of dollars for repairs? Are you going to have to call a plumber in Greenfield, IN?

These are all valid thoughts and we tend to make the worst decisions when we’re in a moment of high stress. It happens! But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel now that you’ve made it to this blog post.

Take a deep breath and don’t panic. Here’s a step by step guide on what you should do right now.

1. Call a professional plumber.
2. Turn off your home’s access to water.
3. Inspect the damage.
4. Clean the area.

Let’s discuss this step-by-step process in more detail below.

Calling a Plumber

This might seem like a weird point to be the first on the list, but we’d put it higher if we could. Think about this—a plumber is going to take time to get to your house. Depending on where you live, this could be anything from 20 minutes to an hour and a half, which means the earlier you call the better.

While a plumber is on their way, you can do some of the other steps listed below, but you’ll know that at a certain point you’ll have the help you need. Don’t skip out on this one, and don’t wait until the end of this checklist to call a plumber, because otherwise you’ll be wasting precious time.

Turning Off Your Home’s Access to Water

Where your home’s plumbing system meets the main water line is a component called the “main shut-off valve.” This valve can be turned to stop all flowing of water into your house. This means that your leak, wherever it might be and however big it might be, will stop leaking. The problem will still be there of course, and there’s not much you can do about it until a plumber fixes it, but at least it won’t get worse.

Inspecting the Damage

Take a look around the area where the leak is, now that the water is shut off. Is it multiple leaks? Is the leak so tiny that it’s almost invisible? Is it leaking dark, contaminated water? These are things you’re going to want to convey to a plumber when they get to your house.

Take your time and pull out some tools that can help you inspect your pipes. No need to unscrew anything or try to fix anything yourself, leave the heavy lifting to a plumber.

Cleaning Up the Area

Use buckets and towels to clean up the remaining water before mold has a chance to grow. Move any storage boxes out of the area so they don’t soak up any water. This can lead to damaged heirlooms that you might rather keep in good shape, so make sure the area is clear and clean when a plumber arrives.

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