Which guide fits what you’re seeing?
Not sure how bad it is
Start with the check at the top of the page on whether this is an emergency. It asks about a gas smell, water you can’t stop, a house with no water and water getting near outlets or the panel. Your answers tell you whether this is a call to make now or something that can hold until morning.
Water running from a broken pipe
The steps for shutting off your water walk you to the main valve and through closing it. They also show where the valve usually is in a bungalow, two-flat or greystone. Read them before winter, so you’re not hunting through the basement with water on the floor.
Water coming up in the basement
The guide to water rising through the floor drain shows how to tell storm water from sewage, and what not to touch until you know which one it is. It also explains why Chicago basements back up when heavy rain fills the sewer, and what standpipes and backwater valves do about the next storm.
A toilet rising toward the rim
The first steps for an overflowing toilet cover stopping the water before it reaches the floor. The same page explains when one stopped fixture is a quick clear and when the blockage is further along, in the line out to the street.
Checking a water line for lead
The lead water line guide walks through a scratch-and-magnet check at your meter and how to read the City’s service line inventory for your address. It also names each City replacement program and what a replacement involves. Start there if the building went up before 1986.
When two things are happening at once
Water spraying from a pipe comes first: close the main, then call. If a pipe is leaking while a drain backs up, still close the main first. That stops the water you can control, and the basement guide covers the rest. If you smell gas anywhere near the water heater, the guides can wait: get everyone out of the house and call 911 from outside.
Once the water is stopped, call and mention which guide you were reading. It gives us a head start on what the plumber needs to look at. Shorter answers, like which pipe is the water line or how to tell a sump pit from an ejector pit, are on the plumbing FAQ, and every job is listed on the plumbing services page.