Water Emergencies:

As our name suggests, this is likely to be a Burst Pipe.

  1. Turn off the water at the stop valve (stop cock) (see picture 1). This is situated where your water enters the building, which is usually under the kitchen sink, but not always. It needs to be turned clockwise, but may be very stiff; if it is, don't force it as you may damage it, but try turning it back and forth a little to see if it releases. It is a good idea and money well spent to have all of your water appliances serviced annually, its times when you are in a panic that you wished you had.
  2. Next turn on the cold water tap in the kitchen sink. This should run momentarily then stop. Has the burst subsided? If not then try and determine where the leak is coming from: the attic, having turned off the stop valve, turn on all the taps in the bathroom, this will drain the storage cistern (tank)
  3. If the Water is warm water, then turn off the feed to the hot water cylinder (see picture 2) - the pipe goes into the very bottom of the cylinder and should have a wheel head valve on it, again closing it hand tight by turning it clockwise
  4. If it's from the cylinder itself then hopefully turning off the feed to it will stop the flow
  5. Now call out the plumber – we can recommend Burst Pipes O7766 250 351