Plumbing
Is it really an emergency? Three questions that sort plumbing calls
Every caller says it's an emergency, but three questions sort most plumbing calls. Is water running, and can they shut it off? Is sewage backing up into the house? Is this the only toilet? Uncontrolled water and sewage are a now. A leak they can stop, or one clogged toilet of three, can usually wait for a morning slot.
"It's an emergency," the caller says, and your stomach drops a little because it's 11:40 at night. Some of those calls really are. Plenty of them can wait for a morning window. The difference between driving across town for a flood and driving across town for a dripping faucet comes down to three questions, asked the same way on every call.
The three questions
Think of every call as a ticket that has to land in one of three bins: now, today or this week. These questions put it in the right one.
1. Is water running right now, and can you shut it off?
If water is pouring and they can't stop it, that's a now. Water keeps doing damage every minute it runs. But if you can walk them to a fixture valve or the main and the water stops, the ticket often drops to a today. The damage is capped, and the fix can wait for daylight.
2. Is sewage coming back up into the house?
Sewage in a living space is a health risk, so it's a now. That includes a floor drain overflowing in a finished basement and a tub filling with waste water whenever a toilet flushes. Tell them to stop running water in the house until you get there, because every flush and every load of laundry adds to the backup.
3. Is this the only toilet in the house?
One clogged toilet in a house with three bathrooms can wait for a morning slot. The only toilet in the house probably can't, especially with kids or older family members at home. Same symptom, different urgency, and you only find out by asking.
Walk them to the shutoff on the phone
The fastest way to turn a now into a today is to get the water off before you hang up. Here's how that sounds.
CallerThere's water everywhere under the kitchen sink. It's an emergency.
YouOkay, let's stop the water first. Open the cabinet and look at the two small valves on the pipes coming out of the wall. Turn them clockwise, hand tight.
CallerDone. It stopped.
YouGood. Leave those closed and don't use that sink. Put a towel down and a bucket under it. Is anything else in the house leaking?
CallerNo, just that.
YouThen you're safe for tonight. I can come out now at the after-hours rate, or I have an 8 to 10 tomorrow morning at the regular price. Which works better?
If the fixture valves don't hold, or the leak is inside a wall, walk them to the main instead. Homeowners who don't know where theirs is will be glad you asked, and you can point them to our guide on finding the main water shutoff once things calm down.
Where common calls usually land
The three questions cover most calls. These are the edge cases that come up often enough to decide ahead of time.
| What the caller says | Usual bin | What to tell them |
|---|---|---|
| Burst pipe, can't stop the water | Now | Close the main, stay away from wet outlets and fixtures |
| Leak stopped at a fixture valve or the main | Today | Leave it off, soak up what's there, don't use that fixture |
| Sewage backing up | Now | Stop all water use in the house, keep people and pets out of it |
| Water heater leaking | Today, or now if it's pouring | Close the cold supply valve on top, shut off power or set gas to pilot per the label |
| No water at all | Depends | Ask if neighbors have water; it may be a utility outage |
| Frozen pipe, not leaking yet | Today | Open the faucet, warm the area gently, no open flames |
| Dripping faucet, slow drain, running toilet | This week | Book a regular window |
A general starting point. Set your own rules for your market and your customers.
Safety first: a gas smell near a water heater is not a plumbing triage question. Tell the caller to leave the house now and call the gas utility or 911 from outside. The same goes for water reaching an electrical panel: they should stay clear and call the power company.
What moves a call up a bin
The questions give you a default. A few things override it:
- Who's in the house. An infant, someone elderly, or someone with a medical need moves no water, no hot water, or no toilet up a level.
- Where the water is going. A slow leak above a finished ceiling or over electrical is more urgent than the same leak in an unfinished basement.
- The weather. No heat and a split pipe in a freeze means more pipes can go. A leak during a storm can mean a failing sump pump and a rising basement.
- Whether they can stay put. A rental unit with water heading into the apartment below is a now, even if the source looks small.
Ask every time, and price nights right
Triage only works if it's the same on every call. The night you skip the questions because the caller sounds panicked is the night you drive forty minutes for a drip. Write the three questions on a card by your bed, and teach them to anyone else who answers your phone.
The other half is price. If your after-hours rate is barely above your daytime rate, every caller will choose tonight, and you'll be exhausted for the real emergencies. Price nights so the call you get out of bed for is worth it. Our guide to setting emergency plumbing rates walks through the numbers, and running after-hours on-call covers who takes the phone and when.
Common questions
What if the caller insists it's an emergency after I've asked the questions?
Offer them the choice with the price attached. Tell them what your after-hours rate is and when your first morning slot opens, and let them pick. Many people who were sure it couldn't wait decide the morning is fine once they hear both options. The ones who still want you tonight have earned the visit.
Is no hot water a plumbing emergency?
Usually it's a today, not a now. A cold shower is miserable, not dangerous. It moves up if the tank is leaking onto the floor, if there's a gas smell, or if the household has an infant or someone who needs hot water for medical reasons. A leaking tank gets the cold supply valve closed first.
Should commercial calls use the same triage?
The questions still work, but the stakes shift. A restaurant with a backed-up floor drain or one working restroom may have to close until it's fixed, so the lost revenue on their side makes it a now much more often. Agree on what counts as urgent with commercial accounts ahead of time.