When water is pouring through a ceiling or across the floor, the first ten minutes matter more than anything a plumber does later. Here's what to do, in order, and how to hire help without making a bad situation worse.
Stop the water at the main shut-off
The fastest way to stop most leaks is the main shut-off valve on the water line that enters your house. Ready.gov, the federal preparedness site, recommends finding that valve before you ever need it and tagging it so anyone in the home can find it. It also warns that a valve can be rusted open or may not close all the way, which is one more reason to find and test it on a calm day.
If you can't get the water off, that's the first thing to tell the plumber when you call.
If you smell gas, leave first
Water can wait. Gas can't. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise:
- Get everyone out of the house right away. Don't try to find or stop the leak.
- Don't touch light switches or anything electrical on the way out, and don't use a phone, even a cell phone, until you're outside and away from the house.
- Call your gas company from outside. If the smell is strong, call 911.
- Never turn the gas back on yourself. Let the gas company or a licensed pro do it.
That applies to a leaking gas water heater too: if you smell gas, the gas steps come first.
Protect your home, and your insurance claim
Florida's Department of Financial Services tells homeowners to make the emergency repairs needed to protect the property from further damage, to take photos before and after those repairs, and to keep every receipt. It also says to photograph or video damaged items and only throw out items that present a health risk.
Before you sign a contract for the full repair, contact your insurance company. The emergency fix to stop the damage and the full repair are two different steps.
Check the plumber's license, even in a hurry
In Florida, plumbing contractors are licensed by the state. A certified plumbing contractor's license starts with CFC; a registered one starts with RF. You can check either in about two minutes with our free license check or on the state's own search.
It's worth the two minutes: unlicensed contracting during a state of emergency declared by the Governor is a third-degree felony in Florida. People who show up uninvited after a storm or a flood are exactly who you should check.
Prices after a declared emergency
Once the Governor declares a state of emergency, Florida's price-gouging law makes it unlawful to sell or offer goods or services at an unconscionable price. The law compares the price with the average price in the 30 days before the declaration; a gross disparity is evidence of gouging. The law is enforced by the state, so if you think you've been gouged, report it to the Florida Attorney General's office.
Before you say yes
- Get the plumber's license number and check it.
- Ask for the price, or how the price will be worked out, in writing before work starts.
- Ask what the emergency visit covers and what a full repair would cost separately.
- Pay as the work is done, not everything up front.
- Keep photos, the invoice and the receipts together for your insurer.
When you're ready, you can find license-checked plumbers on Better Resources and send your request to the one you pick, and nobody else.