Burst Pipe: What to Do in the First Hour

Here is what to do when a pipe bursts: close the main water shutoff, switch off power to any wet area from a dry spot, then open a cold tap on the lowest floor to drain what is left in the lines. After that, take photos, lift what you can out of the water and get extraction and drying started the same day. The first hour decides how much of the house ends up wet.

Step 1: Stop the water at the main shutoff

In most London-area homes the main shutoff is in the basement, where the water line comes through the foundation wall or floor, right beside the water meter. A lever handle needs a quarter turn so it sits across the pipe. A round handle turns clockwise until it stops. If the valve is seized or you cannot find it, call a plumber, and know that your municipality's water department can shut the supply off at the street.

Once the main is closed, open a cold tap at the lowest point in the house, usually the laundry sink, and flush the toilets once. That drains the pressure and the water still sitting in the pipes, so less of it comes out through the break. If the burst is on a hot line, also close the valve on the cold inlet pipe at the top of the water heater.

Step 2: Make the area electrically safe

Water and hydro do not mix. If water is near outlets, power bars or baseboard heaters, or it is dripping through a light fixture, switch off the breakers for those rooms. Only do this if you can reach the panel while standing on a dry floor. If the panel is in the flooded area, or you would have to walk through standing water to get to it, stay out and call your hydro utility or an electrician. Never use a regular household vacuum on water. A wet/dry shop vac is fine if it is plugged into a dry outlet away from the wet area.

What to do when a pipe bursts and water is already on the floor

1. Photograph and video everything before you move it: the broken pipe, how far the water reached, wet walls and wet contents. Your insurer will want this.
2. Lift furniture off wet carpet. Slide a piece of foil or a plastic lid under each leg so wood stain does not bleed into the carpet.
3. Pick up area rugs, cardboard boxes, books, cords and electronics and move them to a dry room.
4. Mop, towel or wet-vac standing water on hard floors, working from the edges toward the source.
5. If the break is on an upper floor, check the ceiling below and set out buckets under any drips.
6. Keep the house at normal temperature. Run a dehumidifier if you own one, and in summer run the air conditioning.
7. Call your insurance broker or your insurer's claims line, open a claim and ask what they need from you.

What not to do in the first hour

• Do not switch on ceiling lights or fans under a wet or sagging ceiling.
• Do not start tearing out drywall or baseboards before you have photos.
• Do not assume carpet will dry by itself. The underpad holds water like a sponge long after the surface feels dry.
• Do not count on household fans alone. They dry the surface while the wall cavity behind it stays wet.
• Do not turn the water back on until the pipe has been repaired or that branch has been isolated.

Why speed matters once the water stops

Water does not stay where you can see it. It runs under baseboards, soaks the bottom plates of walls, wicks up the back of drywall and spreads under laminate and vinyl plank. The surface can look dry in a day while the framing behind it is still soaked. Mold can begin growing on wet drywall and wood within a day or two, which is why the IICRC S500 water damage standard treats fast extraction and drying as the priority.

When we arrive, we remove the standing water, then use a thermal camera and moisture meter to map how far it travelled. Air movers and dehumidifiers go in, and we log readings every day until the framing is under 16% wood moisture content. You get those readings and before and after photos in a clearance report at the end.

Who fixes what after a burst pipe

Three trades are usually involved. A plumber repairs the pipe. A mitigation company extracts the water and dries the structure. A contractor rebuilds anything that had to come out. We do the middle part only, the drying and mold prevention, and refer the rebuild to local contractors. Most water damage jobs here run $1,950 to $11,000. Send photos and you get a firm written quote within 2 hours, between 7 am and 9 pm. You pay us directly and we give you photos, readings and an itemized invoice you can submit to your insurer.

Once things are stable, do one more thing. If you had to hunt for the main shutoff today, tag it, clear the junk away from it and show everyone in the house how to close it.

Common questions