· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Plumbing Repair
A plumbing problem at 11 at night feels like an emergency because it is happening now. Most of the time it is not one. The useful question is whether the problem keeps getting worse once you have done the one thing you can do yourself, which is usually closing a valve. If it stops, it can wait for regular hours. If it does not, or if what is coming into the house is sewage or gas, it cannot. This is how we sort the calls that come in to our emergency plumbing service in Franklin, Nashville and the towns around them, and which ones belong to someone other than a plumber.
Which plumbing problems are real emergencies?
Four problems do not wait: water that keeps running after you have tried to shut it off, sewage backing up into the house, a water heater that is leaking, and a smell of gas. Each one gets worse by the hour, and none of them is made safe by ignoring the fixture until morning.
Water you cannot stop is the plain case. If a supply line, a fitting or a pipe in the wall is spraying and the fixture valve does not hold, the next step is the main shutoff, and our post on what to do first when a pipe bursts walks through the order. Sewage is the second. The EPA’s sanitary sewer overflow FAQ lists what raw sewage carries, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa and intestinal worms, and names direct contact in basements as one way people are exposed, with illness running from mild stomach trouble to serious disease. A floor drain or tub filling with it is not a morning problem.
A leaking water heater is the third. A. O. Smith’s guidance on a leaking water heater says to treat it as urgent, to turn off the breaker on an electric unit or close the gas valve on a gas unit, then close the cold water supply, and not to keep using it. The manufacturer adds that water at the base of a tank often signals serious tank damage that means replacement rather than water heater repair. Gas is the fourth, and it is not a plumber’s call first. If Piedmont Natural Gas serves your address, its natural gas safety page says to leave the area and call 800.752.7504 or 911, and to use nothing that can spark, cell phones included, until you are out. When the line itself needs work afterward, our post on when a gas line needs a plumber covers it.
Metro Water’s side of the meter and yours
Some emergencies belong to the city. Metro Water Services’ emergency service page gives 615-862-4600, answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for an overflowing sewer, a leak in the street or the meter box, and a broken water line in a street or yard. If the water is bubbling up at the curb or the manhole on your street is overflowing, call Metro before you call anyone else.
A problem inside the house is the owner’s to fix, so a backup that comes up through a floor drain usually ends with a plumber even when the first call was to Metro. Where the owner’s share of the sewer pipe ends and the city’s begins is the subject of our post on the sewer lateral, and our sewer line service is the work that follows.
What can wait until a plumber opens in the morning?
Anything you can stop with one valve and live around for a night. This is our own rule of thumb rather than anything from a code or a manufacturer.
- One clogged toilet when the other toilets and drains in the house work. Close the supply valve behind it and use another bathroom. If every drain is slow, or water comes up in a tub or floor drain when you flush, the problem is the main line, and that moves it back to the emergency list.
- A dripping faucet or a toilet that keeps running. Both waste water, and both stop when the valve under the sink or behind the toilet is closed.
- No hot water, as long as there is no water on the floor around the heater and no smell of gas near it. Without a leak or a gas odor, a cold shower is an inconvenience, not a hazard.
- A slow drain in a single sink or tub. It will be just as slow tomorrow, and running more water into it tonight only adds to what has to come out.
Should I call an emergency plumber or wait for the next day?
Call tonight if the water will not stop, if sewage is in the house, or if the water heater is leaking. Call the gas company or 911, not a plumber, if you smell gas, and Metro Water if the problem is in the street or the meter box. Wait for the morning if one valve has made the problem stand still.
The test we use is simple: after you have closed the nearest valve, is anything still getting worse? If not, you have bought yourself a night, and a regular appointment is the better use of it. If it is, or you cannot find a valve that works, contact us and tell us what you are seeing and which valves you have tried. That tells us whether we are coming now or first thing.
Sources
- Metro Water Services, Request Emergency Service — 615-862-4600, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for an overflowing sewer, a leak in the street or meter box, or a broken water line in a street or yard
- A. O. Smith, Why Is My Water Heater Leaking? — Treat a leak as urgent; turn off the breaker or gas valve, then the cold supply; do not keep using a leaking unit; base leaks often mean tank damage needing replacement
- US EPA, Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) Frequent Questions — Pathogens in raw sewage, the range of illness, and contact in basements as an exposure route
- Piedmont Natural Gas, Natural Gas Safety — Suspected leak: evacuate and call 800.752.7504 or 911; do not use anything that can spark, including cell phones
FAQ
Plumbing Emergency or a Repair That Can Wait Till Morning — questions
Is a leaking water heater an emergency?
Yes. A. O. Smith says a leaking water heater should be treated as urgent. Turn off the breaker on an electric unit or close the gas valve on a gas unit, then close the cold water supply, and stop using it. Water coming from the base of the tank often means the tank itself has failed.
Is a clogged toilet a plumbing emergency?
Usually not, if it is the only fixture with a problem. Close the valve behind it and use another bathroom until morning. It becomes urgent when every drain is slow or water comes up in a tub or floor drain when you flush, because that points to the main sewer line.
Is no hot water a plumbing emergency?
On its own, no. If there is no water around the heater and no gas smell near it, a heater that has stopped making hot water can wait for a regular appointment. A leak at the tank makes it urgent, and a gas smell means leaving the house and calling the gas company or 911.
Can a plumbing problem wait until morning?
Most can, once one valve has made them stop getting worse. A single clog, a drip, a running toilet or no hot water without a leak can wait. Water that will not shut off, sewage inside the house, a leaking water heater and a gas smell cannot wait.
What is considered a plumbing emergency?
Water you cannot shut off, sewage backing up inside the house, a leaking water heater, and a gas smell. The first three need a plumber now; the gas smell needs the gas company or 911 first. Problems in the street or at the meter go to Metro Water’s 24-hour line at 615-862-4600.