As a homeowner, many different things can go wrong in your house, leading to damage to the property or injury to people living there. These problems can also result in expensive repairs being needed. Handling a household emergency is not always a straightforward task, especially when you’re panicking, but it’s important to remain calm and collected and to have a good prior understanding of how to tackle these problems so that if they ever occur, you’ll be ready. To provide you with a good pre-emptive strike on these common household emergencies, here are some things to watch out for and what steps you should take to deal with them.
Burst Or Leaking Pipes
This is an emergency that can vary between something manageable over a few days with the help of a bucket or two and something that requires immediate action to prevent the flooding of your home. A burst pipe will spray water out of it and can be a huge risk of water damage to your possessions as well as the rest of your home. Of course, this depends on the severity of the damage and the location of the pipe, too. Either way, you should look at getting it sorted by a professional plumber as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can turn off your water supply while waiting for your plumber to arrive so that you can stem the flow of water. In the event of a minor leak, however, this is still a critical issue to deal with, but you will have some leeway here, but this should also be dealt with as soon as possible to avoid it developing into a worse problem.
Smashed Window Or Broken Door
Broken windows are not an uncommon problem, especially if you have kids. Kicked or thrown balls and other heavy items are more often than not the culprit for an emergency like this, and there are a few steps that should be taken to deal with this as best as possible. Your first step is to put some tough gloves on and meticulously clear up any broken glass you can find. Remove the larger parts by hand and then smaller sharps with a dustpan and brush. Once you can’t find any other pieces, don’t be fooled, as very tiny shards of glass could still be dotted around the area and can cause injury to those that may step on them. It’s important to thoroughly vacuum the area afterwards to ensure you’ve got as much glass up off the floor as possible. A window repair expert will usually offer same-day repairs as this presents you with a very risky opening to your home, which burglars can take advantage of, so make sure you call an expert as soon as possible.
Broken Boiler
This can be a very problematic issue for a few different reasons. We generally need hot water today to live a normal life, and this can be even worse during the colder winter months if your radiators are powered by your boiler, too. Having no access to central heating is going to be uncomfortable when it’s cold out, and for older people that may live in your home, this can even prove to be fatal. A broken boiler should be repaired as soon as possible, requiring an engineer to come out to fix it for you. Remember, though, that these repairs can be costly, especially if new parts are required, or worse, an entirely new boiler. You should always consider saving up an emergency fund to deal with events like this. After all, it’s better to have the money set aside and not need it than need it and not have it. At times like this, you can also deal with these costs with the help of short-term loans from lenders like Sunny but only do this if you’re certain you can pay it back on time.
Rats Or Mice In The House
Pests are a common issue in houses, regardless of location. Countryside homes are just as likely as city homes to become infested with rats and mice, and a lot of this depends predominantly on the structure’s overall integrity. Homes with holes and large cracks in walls make for the perfect target for a rodent who can fit into much smaller holes than you’d expect. Dealing with these requires a few different approaches. First, you’ll want to find where they’re getting into your home and work to seal those entrances up properly. Then you’ll have to ensure that you’ve got them all out of your property. There are a few different methods for this, but they tend to fall into one of two categories – humane and inhumane ways. A pest control expert will choose the inhumane way to quickly and efficiently kill any rodents in your home and dispose of them using physical traps and poisons.
Power Outage
It can be a real surprise when the power in your home suddenly goes out. You might be in the middle of watching TV or busy working, and then out of nowhere, the lights turn off, and the screens go black. This can be incredibly frustrating, and there’s a chance that the power could be out for a prolonged period of time. There are a few things to think about during this time to reduce the impact of this power outage. One, in particular, is to keep your fridge and freezer closed, as while they will no longer be powered, your food can remain cold for up to four hours in a fridge and 48 hours in a full freezer, as all of the frozen food will help to keep everything else cold. If you were in the middle of doing something like ironing or straightening your hair when the power went off, you should ensure that you’ve turned off and unplugged these devices as you might have forgotten about them by the time the power comes back on which will be a huge safety risk. Consider checking with neighbours to see if it’s just your property or the whole area, and make sure to report the outage to your electricity supplier, as not everyone will consider this.
Gas Leak
Probably one of the most dangerous household emergencies is a gas leak, and you need to act quickly in this scenario. If you can smell gas, you need to get fresh air as soon as possible. Open all of your windows and doors to allow the gas to escape outside, and then search for your gas emergency control valve, which should be located near your gas meter. Shut your gas supply off and then go around your property, ensuring that no naked flames exist. Turn off hobs, extinguish candles, put out fireplaces, and definitely do not smoke in or near your home. As well as this, you should avoid turning on any electrical switches as the spark inside these has been known to be enough to ignite the gas in the area, which will lead to an explosion. Contact your national gas emergency service to report the leak and follow the steps they suggest to make sure you and everyone around you are safe. You’ll then have to call a Gas Safe registered engineer to come out and fix the problem directly. This may include removing certain appliances or replacing pipes for them to then deem the property safe again.
