Burst pipe - what to do

What should I do if a pipe breaks through? There are quite a few answers: in such a situation, it is necessary either to urgently call the repair team, or try to block the channel of water entry into the apartment on its own.

For those who find themselves in a similar situation, the most important thing is to gather courage and not panic, but the instructions on how to proceed during an accident are best read in advance.

So, the pipe burst through - what to do in this case? We decided to acquaint our reader with the basic recommendations, following which each of you will be able to cope with the breakthrough of the pipeline in a short time.

Call the repair team (plumbing)

Call the plumber or emergency services

The most natural reaction to the trouble that has happened to you is a call to the housing and utilities service to call a repair team or a plumber on duty. Note that the choice of the subscriber who will need to call depends on who is responsible for the operational safety of the damaged pipe section, as well as on the day of the week on which this incident occurred.

In this case, the following options are possible:

1. In the event that the heating or water supply pipe has broken through thoroughly and you cannot count on repairs on your own - you should call the duty team of plumbers that can eliminate the consequences of the accident.
2. If a breakthrough occurred on a normal, weekday day, during working hours, you should call in the ZHES or directly to the plumber serving your site.
3. If the incident happened on weekends, holidays or night, then the emergency plumber will need to call, and if he is not present, call the emergency service of the water utility.

If you don’t want a possible accident to hit you like snow on your head, be sure to get the phone numbers of your housing authority, emergency service or / or electrician on duty, and keep them always at hand or in the most prominent place. All these contact numbers can be found on the bulletin board of your housing association or on the doors of the entrance.

Resolving the accident on your own

Shut off the pipe to the point of breakthrough

In the event that you have burst water into your home with the threat of flooding the apartment and neighbors, you must urgently take some measures that will at least reduce its head before the arrival of repair personnel. In such a situation, any actions that limit the zone of spreading water from the place of its breakthrough are good. In particular, you can do the following:

• First, you need to substitute any container under your hand that is used for intermediate collection of water under the spouting fountain. Changing one after another several such containers and pouring water from them into the toilet (sink, bath), you can minimize the possible consequences of a breakthrough.
• Next, you need to try to block the riser with the help of valves that are installed, as a rule, not only in the apartment, but also in the basement. Note that if your "local" valves are located to the point of a breakthrough, it will be enough just to close them to eliminate the leaks. If the breakthrough in the pipe is to the place of their installation (or in the valve itself), you should try to get into the basement and find your riser. It should be noted that in some cases this is possible, despite the fact that (according to the rules of work of public utilities) the key to the basement must be kept by the duty plumber.
• The best option for your actions in this case is when one person calls the "emergency services" and is engaged in emptying the tanks, while the second person is trying to find and block the central water supply (heating system).

Substitute the container

The apartment valves with which the water supply is blocked, they are usually located directly in front of the counters that record the flow of fluid. As for the control valves of the heating system, you will most likely find them on the supply lines laid in the basement of the house.

You should also pay attention to the fact that when you break through the pipes with hot water, you must be very careful and use thick rubber gloves (to avoid skin burns).

Sealing the place of the leak

After closing the riser and removing water from the floor of the apartment, you should take some measures to temporarily seal the breakout site. The fact is that by blocking the general riser, you thereby deprive the water and all the apartments connected to it. This will certainly cause discontent of your neighbors who will require you to eliminate the consequences of the accident as soon as possible.

In the event that the arrival of emergency service workers for some reason is delayed - you can try to eliminate the leakage pipes on your own.

To temporarily seal the breakout location, you will need a pair of screw clamps and a small piece of old rubber chamber used as a patch.

Clamp with rubber gasket

With these items in your household, you can make the following:

1. Wrap the damaged section of the pipe with several layers of rubber tape, then fix the patch with clamps, tightening the screws until it stops.
2. In the absence of clamps, you can use any thick wire or even an old cord from the charger. Of course, the effectiveness of such sealing is rather low, but it will most likely be able to hold out until the repair brigade arrives.
3. After the rubber patch is applied, wrap several layers of thick cloth over it, then apply tape (tape, for example).

Procedure for installing a sealing gasket

Naturally, the resulting pie "of the overlays will help you to last only a few hours until the arrival of the emergency service. But all these actions will allow you at the same time to relieve tension in relations with neighbors, since you can slightly open the valve of the common riser in the basement.

Video

Ways of eliminating leaks using improvised means: