What Actually Counts as a 24-Hour Plumbing Emergency?

You are standing there at 11pm wondering whether this is a call-a-plumber-right-now or can-wait-till-morning scenario, as water’s doing something it shouldn’t. It is one of the most frequently asked questions with regard to plumbing, and it does make a difference when it is answered correctly: otherwise you will be charged “after-hours” fees for a problem that could have been dealt with earlier, and if it really is an emergency and you are not prompt enough, a minor problem turns into a big one. Let’s get straight to the point: what is a 24-hour plumbing emergency?

The simple test

The fastest test to make is this: if it is actually causing damage, is hazardous to health or safety, or has cut off something essential like your water, then it’s an emergency. If water is leaking and spreading, if you smell gas, if a drain backs up, or if you don’t have any water, it’s a now problem. It can wait if it is a slow drip into a bucket, or a single slow drain.
Let’s take a look at the true emergencies.

Call a 24 hour plumber straight away for these

A burst pipe or major leak

The classic emergency is water escaping under pressure, spreading rapidly, with the damage escalating minute by minute. A flexi hose, the connector under a sink or behind a toilet, can burst at over 1,500 litres per hour. This is not a problem you wait until morning to deal with, it’s a problem that can flood a house overnight. Shut off the water at the main and call a plumber.

A gas leak or gas smell

This is the one plumbing emergency that can be life-threatening. When you notice that rotten-egg smell, it means gas is leaking, and gas pooling in a closed home is an explosion hazard. Turn off the gas at the meter, ventilate by opening windows, avoid touching any electrical switch, exit the building and call for assistance. Never ignore the smell of gas.

Sewage backing up

If the blocked sewer backs up into your toilet, shower or floor drains, it’s both a damage problem and a health crisis: raw sewage in the home is a real health hazard. Turn off the water to the house and call a plumber.

No water at all

An absence of water in the house (not council related) is an emergency, as it deprives you of something essential. (Check with Sydney Water on 13 20 90 first, in case it is a problem on their side of the meter.)

An overflowing toilet that won’t stop

A toilet that continues to overflow and cannot be stopped is not only unhygienic, it can cause damage, particularly on an upper floor, where it can travel down through ceilings. If closing the toilet isolation valve does not stop the water, it’s a call-now job.

These can usually wait until morning

Not all problems at night are emergencies. These are the genuinely annoying but not usually time-critical problems, and you can save on after-hours rates by booking them during business hours, unless they’re getting worse:

• A trickle from a dripping tap, costly and annoying but not harmful in the short term.
• A slow drain that is still draining, as opposed to a fully backed-up one.
• If your toilet is running but not overflowing, you are wasting a lot of water, turn off the isolation valve and fix it in the morning.
• By itself, no hot water is an uncomfortable situation, but not damaging unless hot water is leaking. (A leaking hot water tank, though, is a different matter.)

The key condition on all of these is: as long as it is not getting worse. If a slow drain is starting to back up, or a drip is turning into a steady flow, it’s emergency time.

When in doubt, make the call

If you simply cannot tell, the best thing to do is call a 24 hour plumber and explain what is taking place. A good one will be honest and tell you whether you need someone right now or it can wait, and you won’t pay anything for that conversation. The one thing you don’t want to do is put off a real emergency until tomorrow and hope it doesn’t get worse, while water does thousands of dollars of damage in the meantime.

The bottom line

The test: if the damage is active, presents a safety risk, or means the loss of an essential service, call now; if it is a contained nuisance that isn’t worsening, it can wait until morning. The actual after-hours emergencies are burst pipes, gas leaks, sewage back-ups, no water and unstoppable overflows. When in doubt, call a 24 hour plumber and get the answer; it saves you from paying after-hours rates for something that could have waited.