It is two in the morning and there is water coming through the kitchen ceiling. Most people lose the first ten minutes to panic and a Google search. Those ten minutes decide whether you are drying a floor or replacing one.
This is what to do, in order, written with The Plumbinators, a Kelowna service plumbing company that takes emergency calls around the clock at 250-300-6963, by call or by text.
1. Stop the water before you find the leak
Go to the main shutoff, not the leak. In most Kelowna houses it is where the water line enters the building: the mechanical room, the basement wall facing the street, or the crawl space hatch. In a condo or townhouse it is usually behind a panel near the water heater. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If it is a lever, turn it a quarter turn so it sits across the pipe.
If you have never found yours, find it tomorrow in daylight and hang a tag on it. It is the cheapest plumbing job you will ever do.
2. Kill the power if water is near it
Water through a ceiling light, a panel or a baseboard heater means the breaker for that circuit goes off before anyone touches anything. If you cannot reach the panel without standing in water, stay out and say so when you call.
3. Turn off the water heater
With the main closed, a tank that keeps firing can overheat. Gas tanks go to pilot or vacation. Electric tanks get switched off at the breaker.
4. Open a tap at the lowest point
A basement laundry sink or an outside hose bib drains what is left in the lines, so it comes out of a tap and not out of the break.
5. Take photos, then move what you can
Your insurer wants photos before cleanup. Thirty seconds with a phone, then get rugs, boxes and electronics off the floor.
6. Now call, and say these four things
What is leaking, whether the main is off, whether there is water near electrical, and how to get in. A text works too, and a photo of the break tells a plumber which parts to bring.
What is not an emergency
A dripping tap, a slow drain or a toilet that runs can wait for office hours, and it will cost you less if it does. The Plumbinators say the same on their own site: if it is not an emergency, call back during office hours, 7 to 5, seven days a week. A plumber who tells you when not to pay the night rate is worth keeping.
Why the truck matters as much as the plumber
Corey Carthew started The Plumbinators in Kelowna in 2017 after working for other local shops. His complaint about the trade was simple: a technician arrives, diagnoses, drives to the parts store, comes back, and the homeowner pays for every minute of it. His answer was a journeyman plumber on every call and the common parts already on the truck, so an emergency is one visit and not three.
All parts and labour carry a one-year warranty. The company holds a 4.9 rating across more than 320 Google reviews, and new customers can book a first service visit for $99.
See The Plumbinators on the Okanagan Trade Directory or visit theplumbinators.com.