The Vaucluse Emergency Plumbing Checklist

If you suffer a pipe bursting or back up of a drain, the last time you want to think about what to do is when the water is pouring over the expensive floor. With a little preparation, all things change. A Vaucluse specific emergency plumbing checklist of what to know and to do before, during and after, for a suburb of high value, large homes on the South Head peninsula.

Before anything goes wrong

The most important thing you can do today, while it’s not too late and everything is quiet, is to find out where the water shut-off is. Typically in a Vaucluse house, it is close to the front boundary or the water meter, although on large or multi-level properties there may be other isolation valves for various areas of the residence. Locate the main and make sure that it actually rotates and that all family members, as well as the property caretaker, housekeeper or property manager, are aware of its location. In emergency, those few seconds that are not spent looking for it are crucial between a wipe up and major damage on a valuable house.

There are some more things to prepare in a big house:

• Know where the gas meter and its shut-off are, if you have gas.
• Find isolation valves for pool, irrigation and guest areas; to isolate one problem area without shutting down the entire house.
• Keep a licensed emergency plumber’s phone number on hand and have staff on site as well.
• When you’re away, you can turn off the water to the house, and ask a neighbor to help check on the house.

The moment it happens

1. Stop the water. Close the corresponding isolation valve (or the main, if it is not possible to isolate a problem). If there is a gas smell, turn the gas off at the meter.
2. If water is in proximity to outlets or the switchboard, turn off the power to the affected areas, but in a safe manner (dry hands and footing).
3. In the event of a gas leak ventilate and evacuate. Open windows, do not touch any electrical switch (even the light), do not use any flames, and evacuate. Clogged up gas in the home is an actual explosion hazard.
4. Protect the valuables. Art, rugs, furniture and anything precious should be moved off wet floors and away from the spread, in a Vaucluse home the contents are often worth protecting fast.
5. Use towels and buckets to try to contain what you can.
6. Take pictures of everything before you clean up, for your insurance company.
7. Contact a certified plumber. State the problem, access and affected area of a home.

What not to do

• Avoid taping a broken pipe and wait. The patch that failed is not going to withstand the pressure of the mains water and will only create hours of water damage to a valuable home.
• Never pour chemical drain cleaner into a backed up drain. It will NOT dislodge a serious blockage, will cause damage to older pipes and is a risk for anyone who then uncaps the pipe.
• Avoid making a hole in the wall to locate the leak. If you have a high-end home, have a plumber use detection equipment to find the leak and then fix it, before causing unnecessary damage to your home.
• If you notice an unusual increase in your water bill, don’t ignore it. It can be a hidden or outdoor leak that is not detected in a large house.

After the emergency

After the crisis, obtain a written report from your plumber listing the problem, cause and repair, you will need this report for your insurance company and on a high-dollar house, you may have a big claim on your hands. Also consider if this is a warning or a one-off. It is no coincidence that a flexi hose will burst, it is telling you something when a drain backs up repeatedly or it is an old pipework with its first failure. You can avoid a repeat by either camera inspection or checking the concealed pipework at that time.

Who to call

Don’t rely on plumbers who are more interested in small high-end houses or the other parts of the harbour. Our emergency plumber in Vaucluse and surrounding area Rose Bay has all the answers, as they work daily on the Eastern Suburbs, across the harbourside, knowing the grand Vaucluse houses, the heritage, and the steep terrain, and are on call 24/7. Save it now, the ideal time to have an emergency plumber’s number is before the emergency.

The bottom line

With a little preparation, plumbing emergencies are seldom catastrophic in Vaucluse. Be familiar with where to turn off the water, move quickly to shut off the water, cover up valuables, document the situation, and call someone who knows the area and homes. Almost without exception, the families who go through these events with the least damage are the ones that have the least exciting preparation before things go bad.