When a pipe bursts or some other piece of plumbing malfunctions, our first instinct is to get the problem under control as soon as possible. The longer such an issue goes on, the harder it will be to repair. Not only will the issue be harder to fix, if left unaddressed, the problem could result in hundreds to thousands of dollars in property damage and water usage fees. Because time is of the essence during a plumbing emergency, we feel pressured to make a repair decision as soon as possible, without giving ourselves time to weigh our options completely.

Trustworthy. The best way to find a Trustworthy plumber is to ask a close friend, family, or a good neighbour for recommendations. They're the best people to ask because they've experienced the services first-hand and they will never lie to you about it. This works in the same way they won't let you hire someone who has worked for them and delivered bad service.

When you contact the actual plumbers that you have on your listing of emergency numbers (which might very well be the first page of Google) be sure to learn how quickly they will be able to get to you. The sooner the better is always the general rule to go by. You don't want to sit with the issue for the next few days, even a few hours might be too much to ask in some situations. The best plumbers will be the ones that can get to you the quickest.

Friends and relatives will have suggestions on who they have used in the past and they will know which ones are good and which are bad. They would never tell you to use someone that they themselves would not use. So when you don't have time to do any research, just ask a friend or relative.

Frozen Pipes: When water in pipes freeze they expand and may even burst the pipe. Close the water heater main shutoff valve. If the pipe has not split yet, thaw it with hot water bottles from the end of the pipe nearest to the tap. Thawing must be gentle, never with a naked flame, to avoid thermal water expansion that too can split the pipe. As a preventive maintenance make sure your pipes are appropriately insulated against the cold months.

Better yet, your results translate into action. Ask yourself for a moment why someone is looking to find a Local plumber or accountant, or whatever, rather than finding out about them generally. It is because they need one right now. It is because they want someone to whom they can drive over in the next half an hour. The traffic you get here is more immediate, more local, and more relevant.

Meanwhile you also need to make sure that you know how to act in the emergency. First and foremost this means getting the situation under control and there are many ways you can do this. For instance you might want to place a bucket or bowl under the source of the leak in order to prevent more damage from occurring. Similarly you might be able to use a sponge or cloth to slow the flow and to soak up as much spilled water as possible.

If these three methods do not work, there are chemical you can buy in the grocery store or home improvement store that break up drain clots chemically. These products are not typically environmentally-friendly and should be used as a last option, but they are effective. Alternatively, you can call your local plumber who always has more tricks and bigger tools to take care of that plugged up drain.