So “Snowpocalypse” is drawing to an end. Hopefully power is back on and you have water in your neighborhood and you are planning to turn water back on to your house. Here are a few tips and some simple steps to follow to help avoid issues and catch leaks quickly. I recommend always using a licensed plumber, but they may be hard to find for awhile.
Step One: Give the house and all the plumbing fixtures a quick walkthrough. Open cabinets, move things out of the way so that you can easily inspect all of the visible plumbing and drains. If you see something obviously broken, don’t turn the water back on. Call a plumber instead. If everything looks good then proceed.
Step Two: Go back and turn off all the fixtures (sinks, showers, etc) in the house and turn off all hose bibs outside. Don’t forget the water heater. Turn off power to it until the pressure is established in the system and the tank is full.
Step Three: Open one exterior hose bib, preferably the one furthest from the main water supply. This will help alleviate pressure from the system and allow some of the air in the line to escape. Don’t be alarmed if there is a lot of coughing and spitting from this one (or any other fixture) as we turn water back on.
Step Four: SLOWLY open the main valve.
Step Five: Quickly move through the house looking and listening for any hissing, dripping or running water. The faster you identify a damaged pipe, the less damage and cleanup. If you find a leak, then immediately turn off the main valve and contact a plumber. Don’t forget to check the water heater. If no leaks are found, then do a check of the exterior of the house. Pay close attention to the top of the slab where the siding begins and if pier and beam, take a look/listen under the house.
Step Six: Test each fixture with a little water. It is possible that a drain line froze so pay attention to under the sinks and what happens when you flush toilets, run showers, etc. If you find a problem in a drain, don’t use that fixture until you can get serviced by a plumber.
Step Seven: Go turn off that hose bib!
Step Eight: Give the interior and exterior of the house another look for leaks!! Early detection is crucial to limiting damage. Some leaks are huge and impossible to miss, while others will be subtle and may go undetected.
Step Nine: Power on your water heater.
Step Ten: It may seem redundant, but go walk the house again and look/listen/feel for leaks. You don’t want to discover it tomorrow because you didn’t look closely enough today!
I hope this simple guide is helpful for you! If you ever hit an issue or don’t feel up to the task, then call a professional.