The ability to recognize the need for emergency plumbing is critical for minimizing the damage done to your home and reducing the overall costs in your plumbing incident. Prompt service is of the essence during an actual plumbing emergency. But how can you identify those moments when emergency plumbing services are required and the problem is one that can easily wait until morning to resolve?

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Calling an Emergency Plumber

Before you decide your plumbing situation is an actual emergency there are a few questions you'll want to ask yourself, including:

1. Can the problem wait? If so, there is no need to call in an emergency plumber. This includes asking if you can turn the water off to stop the flow of water and resolve the problem until your plumber can get to your home. You need to know where the emergency shut-off valve is for water coming into your home to help with this potential problem.
2. Can you identify the source of the plumbing problem? If you can't, then it is likely that you will need some assistance, sooner rather than later, to resolve the issue.
3. Can you fix it yourself? This question is a little trickier. You need to be confident you can solve the problem on your own before you skip out on calling a professional – especially if it is a situation when emergency plumbing is called for.

There are some situations in which you simply need to emergency plumbing services. These are a few common situations in which 24-hour emergency plumbing services are warranted.

• Blocked sewer line or your sewer line is backing up into your home. This is a risk to health and safety and should be addressed immediately.
• Burst pipe(s). While this doesn't always require emergency plumbing services, if you are unable to stop the water supply to the affected pipe or pipes or if your only option is to shut off the water, completely, to your home so there is no water, it does warrant an emergency call to your plumber.
• You experience a sudden, massive, uptick in water usage within your home. Usually means an unseen problem with the water supply line that could cause extensive damage to the structure of your home. This certainly constitutes an emergency and requires the expert eye of an experienced plumber.

While there are certainly other plumbing emergencies you may experience, these are good emergency plumbing examples by which to judge other possible plumbing emergencies.