What our 24/7 emergency plumbing in Oklahoma City covers
An emergency is any plumbing failure causing damage now or likely to cause it before morning. We take these calls at any hour:
- Burst and split pipes in walls, ceilings, attics and crawlspaces, including lines cracked by a freeze.
- Sewer backups, with sewage rising in a tub, shower or floor drain.
- Overflowing toilets that keep rising after you plunge.
- Water heater failures, from a leaking tank to a relief valve that will not stop discharging.
- No water at all, or a main shutoff that will not close.
- Hidden and slab leaks that show up as a warm floor or a meter that keeps spinning.
What counts as a plumbing emergency
Not every problem needs a truck at midnight. If water or sewage is going where it should not and you cannot stop it, call now. If you can stop it and the house is safe, a scheduled visit may save you money.
| Problem | Call now? | What to do first |
| Pipe spraying or ceiling dripping | Yes | Close the main shutoff and open a low faucet |
| Sewage in a tub or floor drain | Yes | Stop using every fixture, including the washer |
| Gas smell in the house | Yes, after 911 and the gas company | Leave the house before you make any call |
| Water heater leaking from the tank | Yes | Turn off the gas control or breaker, then the cold supply valve |
| Dripping faucet or running toilet | No | Close the small shutoff under or behind the fixture |
Not sure? Call, and we will tell you honestly whether it can wait.
Find your main water shutoff before you need it
The plumbing code Oklahoma uses calls for a full-open valve where the water supply enters the building, plus one on the service line near the curb. The inside valve is the one you want in a crisis. In Oklahoma City slab homes, check the garage wall nearest the street, a utility closet, or beside the water heater where the line comes up from the floor. Older crawlspace homes often have it under the house near the front wall.
Old gate valves with round handles often seize after years open. If yours will not stop the water, replace it with a quarter-turn ball valve. That small fix keeps the next burst pipe repair from becoming a ruined-floor job.
If you smell gas, leave first and call from outside
Gas smell? Get out now. Oklahoma Natural Gas tells customers who smell gas to leave the area immediately, avoid using electrical equipment, and call 911 and Oklahoma Natural Gas at 800-458-4251. Call from a safe distance, and do not hunt for the leak yourself.
The utility adds an odorant called mercaptan so leaking gas smells like rotten eggs. It also warns that people can stop noticing the odor, so listen for hissing near gas piping and watch for yellow flames where burners normally burn blue. Once the gas company clears the scene, we repair and pressure-test piping on your side of the meter and check water heater venting.
Carbon monoxide is a separate danger. The CDC reports that more than 400 Americans die each year from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning not linked to fires. If several people get headaches, dizziness or confusion at once, get outside and call 911.
Sewer backups and overflowing toilets
A backup usually appears at the lowest drain first, often a shower in a slab home. When every fixture gurgles at once, the clog is in the main line, and plunging will not fix it.
The City of Oklahoma City repairs its own sewer mains, but it treats the private line from your house to the main as the property owner's responsibility, including all cleanup when that line is the cause, and it says its crews do not clean inside homes. If the pipe is broken rather than clogged, our sewer line repair service can show you camera footage and options. For clogs that keep returning, scheduled drain cleaning costs less than another night call.
Water heater emergencies
A failed tank keeps refilling from the cold line until someone closes the valve. Turn off the gas control or breaker, then close the cold valve above the heater. If water is coming from the temperature and pressure relief valve, never cap it. That valve opens when heat or pressure climbs too high, and it is telling you something else is wrong. Our water heater repair service covers gas and electric tanks.
Why speed matters on emergency plumbing calls
250+ gal
From a 1/8-inch crack
IBHS says a crack that small can release more than 250 gallons a day.
1 in 60
Homes with a water claim
The Insurance Information Institute says about one in 60 insured homes has a water damage or freezing claim each year.
$15,400
Average claim
The institute's average water damage and freezing claim, from ISO data.
Slow leaks add up too. EPA WaterSense estimates the average household's leaks waste more than 9,300 gallons a year. A meter that keeps moving with every fixture off means a hidden leak.
Plumbing emergencies in Oklahoma City: what we see most
Emergencies here follow the weather. In February 2021 the city fell to minus 14°F, according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Summer brings failed water heaters and slab leaks under homes on shifting clay. Holidays bring grease: the City reports that more than one-third of sewer line blockages in Oklahoma City are caused by fats, oils and grease.
Cost comes down to what failed, how hard it is to reach and the parts it needs. We price the actual job after we see it, and financing is available. Want to know who answers the phone? Meet our team and the company.