If a pipe bursts, then, if possible, the first thing you should do is turn off the tap. In the modern world, our homes are equipped with a lot of different communications. We are talking not only about electricity, but also about water, heating and sewerage. And pipelines are used for all this. They are made from high-quality materials that make such communications as reliable and impenetrable as possible. However, this does not guarantee 100% strength; sometimes pipelines still break through. Therefore, it is extremely important to know how to behave in such situations.
Who to contact if there is a water supply failure
The plumbing system provides water to our home. Thanks to it, we no longer need to go to the well with buckets; now, simply by opening the tap, we can get the required amount of liquid. However, this convenience also comes with some problems. For example, if a water pipe breaks, the water escaping from the system can not only ruin your property, but also harm your neighbors below.
If a pipe bursts, you should call the housing office
If a pipe breaks in your apartment, you should not try to solve the problem yourself. After all, this can lead to further deformation of the system. In addition, if you start repairing pipes yourself, you may be blamed for such trouble.
Who to call if your sewer breaks:
- We need to assess the size of the problem. If you live in a private house and the situation is serious, then you need to call plumbers who will do everything to fix the problem.
- It's good if this happened during working hours. In this case, you can contact the Housing Office. You can find the phone number on the Internet or on the doors at the entrance. And the housing office should provide the telephone number of the plumbers.
- It's worse if the trouble happened at night. In this case, you will have to call the water utility emergency service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDLJTfXpDYk
You can also call a plumber you know whose phone number you have. However, in this case, you will definitely have to pay for the repairs yourself.
Rules for turning off water supply
If the cold water is turned off, you should first call in Moscow directly to the utility company that represents this resource. Some houses in the capital still receive hot water supply and hot water supply from the state Vodokanal, and this is where you should call and complain if the blackout is illegal.
The claim will be substantiated when consumers have identified disconnection violations and there is an evidence base. There are basic rules that experts recommend that public and private companies adhere to.
For planned major repairs of pipes or reconnection of a resource, residents are notified two weeks before the start of the event. Government Decree No. 354 prohibits turning off water supply without legal grounds.
The regulatory act prescribes the procedure for the provision of utility services, in particular hot water supply and cold water supply. Utility workers can violate any rules only if there is an order from local authorities to do so. Residents of apartment buildings must be notified of this one month in advance.
What to do
If an accident occurs in your home in the form of a broken water pipe, you need to know what to do. After all, if there is a water leak, it can flood both you and your neighbors. And if the blame is placed on you, it will lead to large costs.
If a gas pipe has burst, you must turn off the gas and contact services such as emergency services or rescuers. After this you need to leave the premises. If you live in an apartment building, then notify all your neighbors about the trouble.
What to do if a water pipe breaks:
- It is necessary to record the fact of the breakthrough in a photo or video. This is necessary so that you can later prove the existence of this problem.
- Next, turn off the water. Make sure it is no longer leaking.
- Call emergency services. You can call the housing office staff.
- Record the consequences of the flood on video. Go down to your neighbors and ask if you have flooded them. If they flooded, record their damage.
- Wipe up the water to prevent it from further harming you and your downstairs neighbors. Dry all items and trim.
- Go to the housing office and write a statement. Demand that a report be drawn up regarding the fact of flooding. This document will describe the problem that has arisen and make assumptions regarding its causes. They will also document the date, time and location of the flooding. It is very important that the damage done is described in detail.
If a pipe has severely burst, there is no need to try to fix the leak only on your own.
Such a document must contain the names and surnames of the people who examined the damage and drew up the report. If the fault of the utility company in the problem that occurred is proven, you will be paid for the damage.
A broken pipe may continue to leak water for some time even after shutting off. Therefore, you need to place a basin or a rag under the damage site. You can also wrap a rag around the breakout area itself.
Who should I complain to about the inaction of utility companies?
It is no secret that employees of DUKs or DEZs do not always respond to residents’ complaints in a timely manner. Meanwhile, their main responsibility is to create a comfortable living environment for residents in the entrusted territory. It is their work that citizens pay for on a monthly basis using housing and communal services receipts. Since utility companies are service providers, Rospotrebnadzor is responsible for monitoring the quality of their provision. The owner of the property also monitors the work of the DUK. If the company does not fulfill its obligations, he has the right to refuse its services.
Burst of heating pipe
In this case, you should not hesitate either, otherwise your house will be flooded with hot water.
Flooding of neighbors below with hot water is much worse than with cold water. After all, if they have suspended ceilings, then the canvas is deformed under the influence of high temperature. In this case, it will not be repairable.
If the leak cannot be eliminated, you should warn your neighbors below
. What to do:
- You need to document the breakthrough so that you have evidence of a problem.
- Next, you need to close the inlet valves. This will reduce the global damage from the accident.
- Call the emergency team. They must arrive at any time of the day or night.
- It is also necessary to locate the location of the breakthrough. Tag it. To do this, you can tie a ribbon or a piece of rag on it.
- Document any problems caused by the flood. We are talking about damaged apartment decoration and expensive things. Then you can demand compensation.
- Go to your neighbors and find out if they are flooded. If it's flooded, document the damage on camera.
- Now you can wipe all the liquid off the floor.
When the master arrives, you need to request a certificate, which will be drawn up in your apartment. The breakdown and its possible causes should be recorded there. Be sure to check that the document contains a description of the damage caused to you and your neighbors.
If it is not the apartment that is flooded, but the basement, then the emergency service also needs to be called. Moreover, even if such a problem arises in the basement or on the street, the emergency crew must leave immediately and eliminate the consequences of the flood, as well as repair the pipe.
If you do everything correctly, the breakdown in your apartment will be fixed for free. In addition, if the utility companies are found guilty, they will have to pay you damages.
Elimination of consequences
A sewer break can create various problems:
- drainage from the upper floors entering the apartment. For residents of the lower floors of multi-story buildings, this can be a very sensitive problem;
- basement flooding. In this case, trouble will affect all residents of the entrance, as the bad smell will spread to the upper floors.
If in the first case it will be necessary to eliminate the leak and thoroughly clean the room, then the second problem is much more complicated. Sewage gases, spreading from the basement to the entrance, can cause serious harm to human health. This especially applies to allergy sufferers, the elderly, and children.
A whole range of work will need to be completed:
- pumping out spilled liquid. Here you will have to use sewage disposal equipment;
- cleaning the room from organic residues;
- disinfection of the basement after a sewer break.
Pumping out drains is one of the fastest procedures. It can be completed in a couple of hours (depending on the volume of spilled sewage). To solve the problem, use powerful mud pumps installed on a vehicle with a tank. As the tank fills, the liquid is removed, drained and pumping begins again.
Cleaning the basement is the most unpleasant, but necessary procedure. After pumping out the water, a lot of organic matter and other pipe contents will remain on the floor. If it is not removed, rotting processes will begin and insects and rodents will appear. This cannot be allowed, especially since existing sanitary standards require keeping basements and basements clean.
The last operation is disinfection. This is the treatment of basement surfaces with special means to disinfect the room. Sewage can contain pathogens of any disease, insect larvae, and other unwanted microorganisms. Of all the procedures that a sewer break requires, disinfection is the most important and responsible. Prevention of infectious diseases or the spread of insects is a priority that cannot be abandoned.
Sewerage accident
A burst sewer riser is especially dangerous. Indeed, in this case, the house will be flooded not only with water, but with stinking drains. And it will be much more difficult to correct the consequences of such a disaster. Therefore, it is extremely important to do everything as correctly as possible.
What to do:
- You need to decide where to call. As in all other cases, you need to contact the housing office during the day, and the emergency service at night.
- Do not pour any liquid down the drain. Go to your neighbors, explain the situation to them and ask them not to use the sewer.
- To prevent drainage from overflowing until a repairman arrives, you can temporarily seal the pipe. To do this, you need to put a clamp on the damaged area. Tighten it with screws.
- If the hole in the pipe is small and you don’t have a clamp on hand, you can seal the break with plasticine. Wrap the breakout area with polyethylene on top.
- Next, as in previous cases, it is necessary to record all the damage. Demand that housing office employees draw up a report, etc.
In the event of a sewerage breakdown, you need to call the appropriate services.
A sewerage break needs to be repaired as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the consequences of the flood will be very difficult to eliminate.
Reasons for de-energizing DHW and cold water supply
Most often, the consumer does not know that the water supply is planned to be cut off. Moscow is a big city and cases often occur when the supply of hot water and cold water is carried out unscheduled. This may be due to an accident or emergency repair. In any case, the citizen suffers first and often does not know who to call in Moscow if there is no water.
There are emergency reasons that do not require warning. However, even for such cases, specific periods of time are prescribed during which utility companies must correct the situation. Utilities are required to comply with water shutoff standards and report in advance about an unscheduled interruption in the supply of the resource.
No housing office or management company has the right to schedule shutdowns for the autumn, spring or winter periods. This is why there is summer, when people go on vacation and stopping the supply of hot water will not cause serious inconvenience.
To find out the reason why there is no hot water, in Moscow in 2021 you need to call the emergency line at the number: 8-800-700-40-70. The cool center operators will indicate the reasons for the lack of water supply.
The following situations are common:
- accident;
- carrying out major repairs;
- pipe cleaning;
- connecting new facilities;
- problems with housing and communal services.
Note: utility companies are required to notify users 10 days before the start of work. The only exceptions are emergency situations.
Watch the video: “Where to complain if the water in the house is turned off outside of the plan.”
Who is to blame for the pipeline damage?
It is very important to find out who is responsible if your pipeline breaks. It depends on the specific situation.
Who is guilty:
- Water supply and sewerage pipes located in the entrance, basement, as well as those leading to the first tap, are under the responsibility of the Housing Office.
- All water supply and sewerage pipes located in your apartment are your responsibility. Therefore, you must monitor their condition.
- Heating is the department of public utilities. However, this is only provided that you did not change the heating water supply yourself. If such changes have been made, then in case of flooding you will definitely not be given compensation.
As you can see, utility companies are not always responsible for pipeline breaks. Therefore, you need to independently monitor the condition of the systems in the apartment.
If your pipe has burst and you live in an apartment building, then you should not try to fix the problem yourself. After all, as a result of such manipulations, you can damage your neighbors’ property.
Limits of responsibility of the management company
Note! To establish the limits of liability of the management company, you should refer to Article No. 36 of the Housing Code and Government Decree No. 491 of August 13, 2006 (as amended on March 26, 2014). It follows from them that the management company’s responsibility for emergencies arising from a breakdown in communications of heating, water supply and sanitation systems extends to networks located up to the point of connection of intra-apartment pipelines with a common riser.
What should the owner or tenant repair at their own expense? Let's be clear on this point. According to the above law, the management company is not obliged to repair this equipment:
- Electric stove, gas stove;
- Plumbing equipment;
- Gas, water, electricity consumption meters;
- Intercom;
- Heating radiators;
- Electrical fittings, cables.
If we are talking about water supply, sewerage, and heating networks, then the boundary of responsibility of the management company passes through these areas:
- Gas supply system - the area up to the shut-off element for connecting to the gas stove;
- Drainage system - the section up to the point of insertion of the drainage pipelines into the common riser, leading to the sink or other drainage points;
- Water supply system - up to the threaded connection with the metering meter outlet pipeline from the riser;
- Heating system - up to the threaded connection of pipelines with heating radiators.
Thus, it can be emphasized that your management company is obliged to maintain free of charge the common risers of communications, as well as sections of the branch and discharge of pipelines from them to the above boundaries.
Note! Telephone numbers of specialists and services involved in emergency response are usually recorded in the house telephone book. If there is not one, you should go downstairs to the front door and find a notice board there. Usually there are telephone numbers of specialists involved in servicing your home.
How to call the dispatch center at a house address in Moscow?
There is also
unified dispatch center (EDC) of the city of Moscow
- phone number:
By calling there, a citizen can explain the problem (lack of water or heat in the apartment), then he will be referred to specialists of the required profile.
However, if you need to find out the contacts of the dispatch service at the address of the house, then you need to use the service https://dom.mos.ru.
Having visited the “Moscow House” website, you need to enter your address into the search bar, selecting the “learn about the house” tab.
Next, the monitor will display information about the building, including the management organization (its name is highlighted in blue in the line).
By clicking on it, the user is shown additional information about housing and communal services, including address, reception hours and telephone number.
Actions in case of leakage
When urgent measures do not give a positive result, you need to drain the water from the system and make high-quality repairs to the damaged area.
For this:
- turn off the tap on the riser, warning your neighbors if it is a common valve;
- drain the water from the system.
Knot near the riser
One of the common damages is at the junction of the riser and the pipe. Leakage in this area may occur due to poor sealing of the joint. It is possible that when attaching the pipe, they did not put enough windings on the thread or did not tighten the lock nut.
The connection must be disassembled and re-twisted. Use tape or sealing thread to wind the FUM. It is advisable to replace the locknut. If the weld seam is leaking, then the water from the riser must be drained and the seam made again. To do this, you need to hire a welder.
Radiator sections
Radiator sections are pulled together. There are rubber gaskets at their junction points. Over time, the tie may loosen or the gaskets may become unusable. Water makes its way at the junctions of the sections. First, use adjustable wrenches to tighten the connection without removing the radiator.
If this does not help, then remove the faulty battery. Shut off the water supply, drain the water from the system and unscrew the radiator. Disassemble into elements, install new gaskets. Clean the sections from slag. Reassemble and install.
Battery input
Warm water flowed where the pipe enters the battery. This is a threaded connection consisting of a drive, a coupling and a lock nut. These elements are made separately and sometimes not from high-quality metal. In addition, if the battery is cast iron and poorly secured to the brackets, it creates pressure that deforms the joint over time.
This unit definitely needs to be replaced. It happens that it is impossible to unscrew the rusted parts, then they are heated with a gas burner. This operation is carried out with extreme caution, having prepared fire extinguishing agents and fencing the work area with protective screens made of non-flammable materials.
Battery edge
If a crack forms in an accessible area of the battery fin, it can be temporarily neutralized. There are 2 types of welding of heating batteries: hot and cold.
If the battery registers are metal, then hot welding can help fix the leak. If they are aluminum or cast iron, then you can forget about it. In this case, cold welding will help. This requires a high-temperature, water-resistant plastic mass that reacts chemically with such metals.
The area to be welded must be thoroughly cleaned, degreased and dried. Knead the substance until it is homogeneous, apply a small layer and let it harden. Welding products such as ABRO STEEL or POXIPOL do an excellent job. The range of such adhesives is wide. You can select welding for the material from which the radiator is made.
Faucet or joint
When the source of the leak is a faucet, it must be replaced. If the tap has not been used for a long time, it becomes clogged with deposits and does not fulfill its task. However, if its rotating part is moved out of place, it can also leak. When choosing a new shut-off device, give preference to ball valves made of non-ferrous metal.
Leaks at joints can be eliminated by wrapping the damaged area with a bandage soaked in saline solution. After drying, cover the top with a bandage soaked in a mixture of plaster and cement.
Modern industry offers consumers plate glue for this purpose. You should wrap the finished strip around the leak area. When exposed to air, the polymer hardens and eliminates the problem. When using silicone sealants to eliminate leaks at faucet joints or threaded connections, choose neutral compounds. Acid-based sealant may promote subsequent metal corrosion.
