A Pipe Just Burst. Here’s What to Do in the First 24 Hours
I personally had this happen to me, two days before Christmas in 2022. I work in water damage restoration, so I should have known better. It happened anyway.
If you lived in Philadelphia that December, you probably remember the bomb cyclone. On the morning of the 23rd it was close to 50 degrees and raining. By that evening it was in the single digits, the wind chill was below zero, and the wet roads had turned to sheets of ice almost overnight. The lights in our house flickered a couple of times as the power grid struggled to keep up, and I remember thinking we had gotten off easy.
On Christmas Eve morning the kitchen faucet gave me a thin trickle and then nothing. The supply line runs along the back wall of the house, the one that took the full force of that wind, and it had frozen solid. Around noon, as the day warmed up a little, I heard a hiss from the basement. A split in the copper line was spraying water across the joists, and it was already dripping through the ceiling tiles onto the boxes of wrapping paper stacked below.
I ran to the main shutoff, and it wouldn’t budge. I tell homeowners to test their valves every fall, and mine hadn’t been turned in probably fifteen years. By the time I got a wrench on it and forced it closed, water had been running for close to twenty minutes.
The basement looked like the worst of it. It wasn’t. When I put a moisture meter on the kitchen wall that evening, the drywall behind the cabinets on that back wall was soaked through, even though the cabinet faces looked perfectly fine. I see that exact situation in other people’s homes every winter. It was humbling to find it in mine.
If it happens to you, the next 24 hours decide most of what this ends up costing you. Move quickly and in the right order, and a burst pipe is a bad week. Wait, or skip a step, and it can become months of repairs, mold, and an insurance claim that gets harder to settle the longer it drags on.
Here’s the order that matters.
1. Shut Off the Water at the Main
Image alt text: Closing a stuck main water shutoff valve beside the meter in a basement
Everything else waits until the water stops. Find your main shutoff valve and turn it clockwise until it’s closed, then open a faucet on the lowest floor to drain the pressure still sitting in the lines.
In most Philadelphia homes, especially rowhomes, the water meter sits in the basement against the front wall facing the street, with a valve on either side of it. The one you want is on the house side of the meter. The Philadelphia Water Department’s guide to preventing frozen pipes points out that this valve is labeled 1A, and that if the break is on a hot water line, you should also close the valve on top of the water heater.
If you’ve never touched your shutoff, try it this fall before you need it. Old valves seize up, and as I learned, finding that out with water pouring through the ceiling is miserable.
2. Cut Power to Anything Wet
Water and electricity share a lot of the same paths through a house. If water is near outlets, a ceiling light, a basement panel, or appliances, switch off those circuits at the breaker. If the panel itself is wet or you’d have to stand in water to reach it, don’t. Call an electrician or the utility.
3. Get Drying Started Right Away
Image alt text: Moisture meter detecting wet drywall behind kitchen cabinets after a burst pipe
This is the step people underestimate. Once the leak is stopped, it’s tempting to mop up what you can see, run a fan, and call it handled. The trouble is that a burst pipe rarely just puts water on the floor. It pushes water into drywall, insulation, subfloor, and the gaps between joists, and those materials can stay soaked long after the surface feels dry. In a rowhome, it can also run along the party wall toward the neighbor’s side.
That hidden moisture is why I recommend bringing in a restoration company for anything beyond a small, contained spill. At Sunrise Water Damage, our crews use moisture meters and thermal cameras to find where the water actually went, then set up commercial dehumidifiers and air movers to dry the structure to a measured level instead of guessing from how the surface feels. The clock is the reason to call early. The EPA’s brief guide to mold and moisture says water-damaged areas should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold from growing, and in most cases drying inside that window stops it before it starts.
A good restoration crew also handles the messy calls you’d rather not make yourself, like whether a wet section of drywall can be saved or has to come out.
4. Photograph Everything Before You Move It
Before furniture gets dragged out and soaked carpet gets pulled up, take photos and video of every affected room. Get the broken pipe itself if you can see it, the water line on the walls, and damaged belongings. Hold on to receipts for anything you buy that day, from towels to a hotel room.
Then call your insurance company. Most homeowners policies cover sudden pipe bursts, though coverage gets trickier if the insurer believes the house wasn’t kept heated. Ask what they need from you and whether they want an adjuster to see the damage before anything is removed.
5. Get the Pipe Fixed by a Plumber
Restoration and plumbing are two separate jobs. A restoration company dries the house; a licensed plumber repairs the pipe. In Philadelphia, it’s worth knowing that the Water Department doesn’t repair pipes on private property. The service line from the curb into your house is your responsibility, the same as the pipes inside.
If the pipe burst because it froze, ask the plumber to check the rest of the run. Where one section froze, others nearby often came close. Pipes along exterior walls, in unheated crawl spaces, and under kitchen sinks on outside walls are the usual suspects.
6. Keep an Eye Out for the Next Few Weeks
Even after a thorough dry-out, pay attention to the rooms that got wet. A musty smell, paint that starts to bubble, baseboards pulling away from the wall, or flooring that cups or feels soft underfoot are all signs moisture is still hanging around somewhere.
| Problem | Who to call |
| Water is still flowing | Shut the main yourself, then a plumber |
| Wet walls, ceilings, or floors | A water damage restoration company |
| Electrical panel or outlets got wet | An electrician |
| Damage to the house or belongings | Your insurance company |
Preventing the Next One
Most burst pipes in this area come from freezing, and most of them are preventable. Disconnect garden hoses before the first frost and close the indoor valve that feeds the outdoor spigot. Insulate pipes in unheated spaces. On the coldest nights, let a faucet on an exterior wall drip and open the cabinet doors under sinks so warm air can reach the plumbing. If you’re leaving town in winter, the Red Cross recommends keeping the heat set no lower than 55°F.
And go find that shutoff valve now, while the basement is dry.
Sunrise Water Damage Restoration
975 Second Street Pike, Suite B
Richboro, PA 18954
(215) 399-6538
