When Is It a Plumbing Emergency?
Some plumbing problems can wait for Tuesday. Others are damaging your home right now. Here's the line between the two — and what to do in the first five minutes.
Call now: the true emergencies
A burst or frozen pipe. A major leak or active flooding. A toilet overflowing and won't stop. Sewage backing up anywhere in the home. No water at all — or no hot water with a house full of people. A suspected gas line problem (smell of gas, hissing). Drain backups hitting multiple fixtures at once. These are problems where every hour of delay adds damage or risk.
It can probably wait (a day, not a month)
A slow drip under a sink you've caught in a bucket. One slow drain. A faucet that drips. A toilet that runs occasionally. These deserve an appointment soon — small problems grow — but they don't need an emergency call at 2 a.m.
Your first five minutes
For water emergencies: shut off the water. If it's one fixture, its local valve; if it's major, the main shut-off for the house. Then move what's valuable out of the water's path and call. For a suspected gas issue, don't investigate — leave the area and call from outside.
What happens when you call us
Emergency calls are prioritised. We inspect quickly, stop the damage first, find the root cause, and explain what needs to happen with straightforward pricing before we start. Same-day service is available seven days a week across our Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia service area.
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Our related service: Emergency Plumbing — Rapid response for sudden leaks, backups, or plumbing failures that threaten your home, safety, and daily routine.