Despite what it looks and feels like, a bathroom or kitchen flood isn’t the end of the world. The trick is to remain calm. By keeping your cool, you can minimise damage, address the problem and most importantly – stay safe!
Turn Off the Bathroom or Kitchen’s Electricity
If you see sparks or if any electronic devices are wet, do NOT go into the room. Even if you can’t identify any immediate risk of electrocution, go to your consumer unit and turn off the electricity in the flooded room before entering.
Shut Off the Water
If the flooding is being caused by a sink of bath overflowing, turn the tap off. If you can’t see where the flooding is coming from, look for a stop cock near pipes in cabinets underneath the sinks and near the wall behind the toilet. These can be turned (normally clockwise) to stop water flow. If water seems to be coming from multiple places, or if it’s coming from a pipe rupture, or you can’t close with a valve in the bathroom, turn your home’s water off instead.
Take Photos or videos
You will need these for the insurance company. Take photos or videos of what the flooding looks like and of any damage it did. After you’ve cleaned up the water (see next step) take another set of photos and videos. Log everything that was damaged, taking note of the severity and nature of the damage.
Mop the Floor
Move objects sitting in water on the floor to somewhere where they’ll dry. Now mop the floor.
Call the insurance company (optional)
Home insurance claims are rarely straightforward, but water leaks can be an especially tricky area to navigate. Not every scenario will be accepted by your insurer even if your home insurance policy includes water damage.
Give us (the plumber) a call
We will find the source of the bathroom flood, tell you why it happened, fix it, and help you prevent it from happening again. Avoid waiting too long – the longer you have a leak or rupture, the longer that bathroom will remain unusable, and the higher the chance of permanent plumbing or structural damage.