Plumbing disasters never come at a convenient moment. In fact, sometimes it seems like they deliberately wait until the worst possible time to strike. When you do have a plumbing issue, you naturally don’t want to wait one moment longer than necessary to get it taken care of. But if it happens at night or on the weekend, what do you do? Will it cost more to hire a plumber then?
Take a moment to assess
Before worrying about costs at all, it’s a good idea to assess the situation and see if it’s as serious as you think. There are plenty of plumbing issues that can wait until normal working hours. It’s hard to remember that, though, when water is gushing out all over your floor.
The first step is always to turn off the water. This stops any further damage from taking place and buys you a moment to calm down and think. Make sure you know where to find the valves to shut off water to both individual fixtures and your entire home. Make sure your whole family knows where they are, too.
If you’re able to turn off the water, then you can almost always wait at least a few hours, and sometimes a few days, provided you have another sink or toilet to use. If you’ve only got one clogged toilet and a house full of people, you’ll probably have to get help sooner rather than later. But that’s why it’s important to take a minute to assess.
Call the water company
Your next step might be to call your city or municipal water company. You should do this if you have any reason to suspect that there’s a problem with the sewer line or a break in the main municipal water line.
The water company usually has 24/7 service to cover these sorts of issues. If something which they are responsible for caused a problem in your home, they should make and pay for repairs.
Calling the experts
The last thing you want to do in an emergency is call around frantically looking for an after-hours plumber. The truth is that many plumbers will charge higher rates for weekend, night, or holiday work, but there are some things you can do to minimize those costs.
Don’t wait until the worst happens before you start looking for a good plumber. Companies like Northridge Plumber typically have working hours on Saturday and Sunday, although they may be shorter than normal Monday to Friday hours. If you already know who to call, you are a step ahead of the game when a problem arises, and you can possibly schedule a repair at a better time.
Before you call, take a few moments to write down all the details of what’s gone wrong and all the fixtures or pipes that you believe have been affected. This will help your plumber give you a better estimate.
Get the best
Plumbing repair is like anything else: you get what you pay for. Good plumbers are highly skilled, have a breadth of experience, and are up-to-date on the latest materials, procedures, and codes that will affect your repair.
Because plumbing disasters don’t come on schedule, plumbers do work odd and unpredictable hours. They’re often working those hours around stressed and even frantic homeowners who want problems to be solved as quickly as possible. It takes a special type of person to be willing to work under these circumstances, and compensating them for these working conditions is part of what goes into plumbers’ fees.
Yet that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get affordable, quality plumbing help when you need it. The key is to look now, in advance, for a quality plumber with the skills and expertise to take care of any emergency — whenever and wherever it strikes.
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