¡¡¡Nooo0ooOo!!!
How did this happen?! Your house is flooded, and you can smell mildew in the stagnant air as you watch metal cans of pre-sliced carrots marinated in synthetic sweeteners and unpronounceable preservatives float mockingly past your submerged ankles. In this moment, you feel cursed and fight back the urge to cry out to the sky, begging to know why you have been singled out for such torment when so many in this world are more wicked and deserving of punishment than yourself. Why has this happened to you and not someone for whom such a terrible penalty might have been more proportionate to their transgressions?
That sounds pretty terrible, huh? Imagine coming home to find that your beloved home has sustained extensive water damage due to some kind of mysterious plumbing issue and then immediately launching into a negative thought spiral, eventually culminating in an existential crisis and a complete psycho-emotional meltdown. What if all it took for your grip on reality to be loosened or even irreparably severed was a flooded basement, all because you didn’t know how to tell if a pipe burst in your house? What a sad day that would be. Fortunately, we have good news for you: This article exists! Read on…
Is There Standing Water Anywhere?
Are there any puddles or pools of still water collecting in any spots around your house? That’s a bad sign. Water pooling on your floor can damage not only the floor itself (such as if you have carpet) but also your molding and walls. And that’s to say nothing of your electrical wiring if the water rises high enough. You’ll want to pay especially close attention if you see any discoloration or cloudiness in the water, as this can be a sign of a burst pipe.
Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to stop it unless you find the source of the water. Even if you scoop it up and dry the spot, more water will fill it again. The silver lining is that you can probably trace the origin of the leaking water by…
Looking For Water Stains
These are signs of significant damage that will most likely require fairly extensive repairs by a professional. It is recommended that you not attempt to make these repairs yourself, as you’ll risk worsening the damage further. Water stains can ruin your house’s aesthetic while degrading its structural integrity.
However, the upside of water stains (if such a thing can be said to exist) is that they act as a trail. If you follow the path of the stains, you will often be able to trace the source of the leak (or at least the general area where it originated). From there, you can move any obstacles or possessions out of the area and call a plumber to handle this emergency for you. If you’ve already got water stains and standing water, you should have a professional handle the problem for you because the problem is already too advanced for anyone who doesn’t do this for a living. While you wait for the plumber to arrive, you can check for…
Unusual Sounds or Smells, Especially Coming From the Walls
Under normal circumstances, you should never hear gurgling or other water noises from your wall. Really, you probably shouldn’t hear them coming from anywhere except for maybe the sink or fridge. If you do, you’ve got cause to be concerned. And if you notice these sorts of sounds, you’ll often notice a moldy or mildewy smell along with it. If you’ve got either of these, you’ve most likely got a problem. If you’ve got both, then you almost certainly have a problem, and you need to get a plumber over there now.
Lastly, Check Your Water Pressure & Water Bill
If you notice a sudden and significant decrease in your water pressure, you’ve most likely got a burst pipe. That’s because such a decrease in pressure usually happens as the result of water leaking out of a damaged pipe. To be sure, though, remember to check your water bill if you have one. Compare it to the previous one you were given and see if your water usage has increased dramatically. Unless you’ve started taking much longer showers or running the sink to help you sleep at night, you shouldn’t see a major difference between the two bills. If you do, you probably have a leak. And if you’ve got a leak like that, you may have a burst pipe. As with all the other things on this list, call a plumber to get a second opinion and a resolution to the problem.
Conclusion
Take a deep breath and relax. Burst pipes are incredibly frustrating to have to deal with, but the silver lining is that you don’t have to deal with it. You can and should contact a professional to have them come to your house and deal with it for you. And, because you learned earlier how to tell if a pipe burst in your home, you were hopefully able to sniff out the problem early enough to avoid the damage being too extensive. At the very least, the damage might not be as bad as it could have been.
