To feel totally alone with this issue in my home and to ask for help as a lone parent

what you do surely depends on whether you own your home, its privately rented or social housing?

If you don't own, your first port of all should be your landlord - hopefully other posters should have reassured you that it's not dangerous, get on to them or their agent ASAP before you rack up £££ in emergency call out fees.

Also just to try and reassure you it is most probably not as bad as you think. We found damp in the kitchen cupboard, damp and bubbling plaster in the hall and a waterlogged skirting board under the hall radiator.

I catastrophised about having to rip out kitchen cupboards, remove radiators, hackon onnto walls to find burst pipes etc . It turned out the seals around the bath had gone and water was pooling on the concrete floor below every time we showered, which was then being sucked up by the walls around (we are in a flat so the bathroom is next to the kitchen).

£100 for the plumber to reseal the bath and £60 for a carpenter to remake a small bit of damaged skirting board - I repaired the damaged plaster myself, and we were fine.

I would give your insurance company a phone and see what they say. My cover this would be enough for them to send someone out under the home cover element.

Not a direct answer but just wanted to say...
Once you've navigated this issue successfully (which you will) you'll feel much more confident next time. It's just one of many things you'll face over time.
For me, the big things I dealt with post-divorce were the car service (terrifying) and sacking the dodgy builders (also terrifyingly but I was driven by anger). Once I'd dealt with both of them, I knew I could cope with anything.
You'll get to that point too, honestly. If it helps, get a friend or family to come over when the plumber is there, for moral support.

It doesn’t sound like an emergency. It would be if water was pouring down the walls
but it sounds more like a slow leak. However you don’t know whether it will get worse so on balance I think I would ring the emergency line and tell them what the problem is. Insurance companies pay out a lot for water damage and might choose to send someone out.

You can but the pessure is likely to be affected. Also if the water is leaking from a radiator pipe join then the water leaking out will be hot, so be careful.

I wouldn't put it on unless you absolutely have to.

Don't panic! We've got a small pipe leak behind some boxing - they are having a look at it this week some time

Do you have the sort of extra cover where they will send a plumber free of charge?

Its not an insurance issue really. Its a small leak on a heating pipe, probably a loose joint or similar.

Call a plumber who can find the leak and sort it, then the area will need to dry out and be repaired. Again a simple job that you could actually learn to DIY, or find a local handyperson who can fix it up. Few hundred pounds for it all most likely.

You'll possibly find a plumber who can also do the repairs - look for a plumber/ home maintenance/ no job too small kind of person.

Are you saying you have paid for cover so that a plumber will come out? If you have then you could give them a call and see what they will do. I had this and when a pipe sprung a leak they came out and fixed it. However you might have to wait as it depends on where their plumbers are.

If you can’t find any personal recommendations I would also go to checkatrade.com and advertise the job and see who comes back to you. I wouldn’t advertise on Facebook as recommendations might just come frim plumbers dad/wife/cousin etc

We haven't mentioned our issue to the insurers as we will sort it ourselves.

If you want to involve your insurance company then you could give them a call today and say it's a small radiator leak. But I am not sure if this will be covered by your emergency cover anyway. In order to claim anything you will most likely have to submit quotations anyway, which you can't do until you have spoken to a plumber.

Get a plumber preferably recommended by a neighbour to give you a quote. He won’t charge for looking and will explain what needs to happen. hope it will be inexpensive but if not you’ll call the insurance company to claim. There will be an excess to pay eg the first £50. Your premium may go up when you renew but you’ll be able to look for a cheaper price.

I agree. Leave it till tomorrow.

Today ask family/friends for recommendations for a plumber.

Your wall will need to dry before you get the plaster sorted. It's a cosmetic thing, so if money is a bit tight you can wait a bit to do this.

We need to sort out a patch of plaster on a wall following a issue with a flat roof. We are leaving it till the Spring. The wall has dried, a bit of plaster has dropped out, but the wall itself is fundamental sound.

Put a bowl under the drip and take a deep breath. Then follow the other advice. Monday will be fine.

💐

Can you share a photo with us? I'm confused by your description. Most likely you have a small leak at a joint in the pipes. That's a very easy repair. For now I'd put a hard towel down to protect the floor and wait till Monday to get anyone out.

Whatever you do, don't show this amount of panic when a plumber does come over.

It really depends where you are in the country! I’m in the North West and a plumber would charge a £60 call out which would cover the first hour, then around £60 per hour from then. I’ve had a ceiling patch repair by a plasterer done last week when the roof leaked and the ceiling collapsed from the wet and that cost £180

Radiator water is not dangerous. It may be dirty/stain but it's not going to give off fumes or burn a hole in the floor.

If it's a water pipe that's burst turn off your stop cock, which is possibly under your sink.

No it's not dangerous. It might cause damage and if it is a pipe leaking behind the wall it might be a bit of work to put it right. But it won't have affected the structure of your house. it sounds like you have insurance so if it does turn out to be big then they will help. However from what you have said it sounds like it's just a small leak.

Does your insurance have an emergency call out service - I pay a bit extra each year for plumbing and electric cover and if I have a problem they will send a tradesman even for small jobs.

Deep breath and try to calm down. You’ve got a dripping pipe, just behind your plaster board by the sound of it. Plaster crumbles easily
when wet- after all, think what wet plaster is like?!

a plumber will be able to sort this easily.