Burst pipe - what to do

What to do if a pipe burst? 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 a pipeline breakthrough in a short time.

Call the repair team (plumber)

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. It should be noted 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.

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, during working hours, you should call the housing department or directly the plumber serving your site.
3. If the incident happened on weekends, holidays or overnight, then you will need to call the plumber on duty, and in case of his absence - to the emergency service of the water utility.

If you do not want a possible accident to hit you like snow on your head - in advance, get the phone numbers of your housing management, emergency service or / or electrician on duty, and also keep them always at hand or in the most visible place. All these contact numbers can be found on the bulletin board of your housing association or on the doors of the entrance.

Elimination of the accident on its own

In the event that your home has burst water with the threat of flooding the apartment and its neighbors, you must urgently take some measures to 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 of all, it is necessary to substitute any vessel under the 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 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 breakthrough, it will be enough just to close them to eliminate the leaks. If a breakthrough in the pipe is located to the place of their installation (or in the valve itself), you should try to get into the basement and find your riser. Note that in some cases this is possible, despite the fact that (according to the rules of the public utilities service) the key to the basement must be kept by the duty plumber.
• The most optimal variant of your actions in this case is when one person calls round the “emergency services” and is engaged in emptying the tanks, while the second is trying to find and block the central riser of the water supply (heating system).

Apartment valves, with the help of which the water supply is blocked, 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 breaking pipes with hot water, you must be very careful and use thick rubber gloves (to avoid skin burns).

Sealing leak

After blocking the riser and removing water from the floor of the apartment, you should take some measures to temporarily seal the place of the breakthrough. 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 workers for some reason is delayed - you can try to eliminate the leak pipe in the home.

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.

If you have these items in your farm, you can do the following:

1. Wrap the damaged section of the pipe with several layers of rubber tape, then fix the patch with clamps, pressing the screws all the way.
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, wind several layers of thick fabric over it, then apply adhesive tape (tape, for example).

Naturally, the thus obtained "cake" from the lining will help you to hold out only a few hours before 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 to eliminate leaks with improvised means: