The plumbing system of a house works a little like veins around the body; they transport vital fluid to all parts of the house, following the laws of nature, with fluids and gases desperately trying to seek their own natural levels.
Sometimes too of course, house pipes tend to rupture and burst which unfortunately courses a water emergency.
Although a burst pipe may not seem sound that serious, there can actually be fatal consequences to not taking a few simple, yet thoroughly important steps:
1. Turn off your water supply. In most houses you will be able to find the stopcock underneath the kitchen sink. If you cannot find this, you will need to work out as to where the water enters your home.
2. Once that you have turned off the stopcock, you must now drain the water system to ensure that no more water will find its way to places that it shouldn’t be. You can do this by turning on all of the cold taps and flushing the toilet.
3. The next task that you have to undertake is to switch off the central heating and once that the water has been shut off, flush the hot water out of the system through the hot taps.
4. Most importantly, and depending on the severity of the leak, you may want to do this first – turn off the electricity. If the mains are wet however, it is important that you do not touch them! Call a qualified electrician immediately.
5. Get some buckets! If the water is coming through the ceiling, it is important that you make sure the water is somehow gathered to prevent further damage. Although this is an obvious solution, it is one which surprisingly, many people forget about; probably
caused by the panic of a flooded house.
Of course, problems such as a burst pipe can cause massive damage to every room of the house. When the damage is done in the kitchen, there are thankfully solutions to fixing areas of your kitchen without the need to purchase a new one.
Companies such as Eurofit can help with fittings and a large range of components such as handles and table bases and legs.
But what can cause burst pipes?
One of the great many causes of a burst water pipe is the freezing of the liquid within the pipe. This can cause a burst in many homes, especially those that are particularly old as they will not have been designed to fight off the freeze. Insulating your loft, the pipes themselves and the shutting off of the water supply if you are away can prevent this.
Other causes of burst pipes including the age of the pipes, sometimes as already mentioned, they can be quite old leading to a higher risk of them bursting. Another reason to this is that the pipes may simply wear away due to the passage of time.
You can of course check your pipes by turning the water off and checking all visible pipes in the house for leaks, cracks and warped frames before wintertime arrives.
If you don’t feel comfortable with these home maintenance tasks there are people you can hire to help you out. Handyman London is available to do all the odd jobs round the home that you either cant or dont feel like doing.
