Every homeowner lives in fear that something might happen to their house. The truth is, household emergencies are not uncommon at all, but they don’t have to present a big problem if you know what you’re doing.
The top 10 most common household emergencies in Australia (excluding theft and fire) according to NRMA Insurance survey are:
• Power blackout
• Blocked toilet, drains, or pipes
• Broken hot water system
• Broken window or door
• Leaking roof
• Water Leak
• Gas Leak
• Burst tap
• Being locked out of the home
• Broken air-conditioning system
Fortunately, most of these things are easy to fix, but for some of them, you’ll need to call emergency services for safety reasons.
Let’s take a look at how you can fix some of them.
Leaking roof
A leaking roof is probably the most common home emergency, and it does not present a significant danger to you or your family. If you find out that you have a leaking roof, put a container under the leak and move all electric appliances, cables, and furniture out of the way to prevent excessive damage to your home.
If you’re Mr. or Mrs. Fix-it, you can fix your roof by realigning and straightening out shingles that have been curled back and reattach them with a generous amount of asphalt cement. You can also contact Commercial Roof Debris Removal or roof hail damage services if your roof has been damaged by storm or snow. While you’re up there, don’t forget to check every single shingle if you don’t want to deal with the leaking roof again. if you need to contact a professional, check here.
Burst tap
Burst or leaky taps and showerheads are common, but that doesn’t mean that you should just shut off your water and hope for the best. You need to fix them immediately if you want to avoid significant water damage. However, if the unfortunate happens, make sure to contact an emergency water damage restoration company for clean up and restoration services. If the damage is significant, you may need assistance in getting claims. Visit sites like www.lmrpublicadjusters.com/ for more information.
In order to fix burst or leaky taps and showerheads, you need to turn off the water in your home altogether. The rest of the process is easy, and anyone who is even a little handy can do it. Remove the faucets and showerheads, clean the area around them, remove old excess materials such as old rubber gaskets and install new faucets. It’s really that easy.
Bonus tip: Wrap the thread of the pipes with a Teflon tape in order to make it a bit stickier. By doing that, you’ll prevent any future leakage.
Power failure or blackout
The vast majority of power blackouts happen because of bad and extreme weather, so there’s nothing that you can do to prevent it. Power failures, however, are common, and in most cases, you just need to know where your trip switch is.
Switches can trip for a number of reasons:
• A faulty appliance
• Faulty connections
• An overloaded circuit (This happens if you use too many electrical appliances at once)
• Faulty immersion heater
To fix this, find your power switch and take a good look at it. If the switch is on, try turning it off and then on again. If this doesn’t fix your problem, then you need to press the “push to test” button. This will allow you to see what kind of problem you have. If the switch trips, you’ll need to find a good emergency electrician in Sydney to fix it, so don’t bother calling your supplier since the problem is in your home.
If the switch is off, just flick it back on. In most cases, this will resolve your problem. However, if the problem persists, calling a professional electrician is the only course of action you should take.
In order to be prepared for household emergencies, you need to have the right tools, and you need to know where they are at all times. Most common home emergencies you can fix by yourself, but don’t try to fix anything if you’re not sure how it works.