to ask for late night plumbing leak help? 🙏

[Knackedlonemum]

Long time lurker with a late night leak :(

DS had a shower this evening. Shower pump has been v noisy for a few weeks - usually an indication it’s scaled up, it eventually dies and I get it replaced (happens every few years - hard water area). This evening the pump finally conked out, some of the electrics tripped (just the circuit the pump must be on I think, as only one switch flicked in the fuse box, and a couple of sockets downstairs which must be on the same circuit. Switch is labelled ‘downstairs sockets’ but must have the pump on it too perhaps?).

Then noticed there’s a lot of water dripping from the shower pump through to the kitchen ceiling below. (Shower backs onto the airing cupboard, pump is in the airing cupboard). Have put a towel underneath to catch the drips. They seem to be stopping so perhaps just the pump emptying?

Insurance claims line is very busy. Don’t want to disturb my usual plumber late if I can help it but will contact him in the morning to get the pump replaced.

Is there anything else I need to do til morning? Water and electrics freaks me out, don’t know what I’m doing. Airing cupboard has water all over the floor. Kitchen lights underneath (which are off - seemingly tripped off on the same circuit when the shower pump gave out).

Thanks for reading.

Oh btw I can never turn the water stopcock off under the kitchen sink by myself - it’s ridiculously stiff :(

I’m just going to @pigletjohn for you as I reckon that’s as good as any response!

Ahh thank you, good thinking @Kneadless!

If you have any lubricant spray, wd40 or similar, give the stopcock a liberal spray and then try turning it off after 5-10 minutes, then deal with it in the am

Keep trying the insurance claim line. Have you got Homeserve? If not you can usually get it for a Pound a month for a year, one for plumbing and one for electrics. It's just an introductory offer. They will also sort out the stopcock for you. If it's stopping it may be ok for tonight, don't turn the lights on in the kitchen. Hope you get it sorted soon.

thank you @Moobootoyoutoo - I’ll try that

Cross posted - thanks @Cadenza12 - I’ve just switched insurance companies a few months ago and think I have emergency cover (always did with my old insurer) but website isn’t easy to find my cover! I’ll keep trying them.

Once you’ve got the problem sorted, go and get a SureStop fitted.

I am concerned about water dripping onto electrical connections. Try to put a basin under the drip, and bind the leak tightly with a bandage. If you cannot stop the water, turn the power off. A shower ought to have service valves on the pipes to isolate it. They usually have a slot that looks like a screw head, you turn it with a large screwdriver so the slot lies against the direction of the pipe, not parallel with it,

You probably also have an outside stopcock. Depending on the age of the house, it might be next to where the front gate used to be when the house was built, or it might get in the pavement under the hatch for the water meter. It is usually in a straight line between the pavement and the indoor stopcock. A torch and a pair of gloves will be handy. It is best to look for it on a warm sunny day, before you need it. Some people like to hide them under paving or flower beds.

The indoor stopcock can be replaced by a new one. A stopcock has a Tee handle, not a knob or a wheel, which indicates a different type of valve. It might free off if you turn it a fraction to the left, then a fraction to the right, keep repeating. Unless you are a plumber, do not apply great force to it or you might break it. If you are a plumber, you won't mind breaking it, because you can charge the customer to fit a new one. The Tee can be turned with a tool that has a sort of fork to fit over it. The design of stopcock has hardly changed in the last hundred years, and a replacement will probably fit in easily. Very often a new tao of exactly the same design can have its innards taken out and screwed into the body of the old valve. It is normal to turn off the outside stopcock first, but a plumber may use a freezing kit that chills the supply pipe enough to stop the water flow. Plastic pipes are easier because they can be squeezed shut.

BTW a common cause of jammed taps and valves is that they have been turned with too much force. When you open them, back up off half a turn so they are not hard against the stop.

You should never need to turn a tap off with great force either. This is usually done by older people, who became accustomed to dripping taps that should have had a new washer fitted. If you turn these taps off with great force, you damage the washer and its seat, causing it to wear out and drip.

Taps are deliberately made watertight, so putting oil on the outside may not reach the inside.

Example of a typical budget quality isolating valve. Observe the slot that looks like a screw head (it is not). Observe also the price, which is relevant to the quality.

www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-isolating-valves-15mm-10-pack/32802

Examples of high quality valves. Observe that they have handles. Observe that the price is ten times as high. The quality is a hundred times as good.

www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/ball-valves/cat3830014?brand=pegler&sort_by=price

Example of a stopcock tool. I am reluctant to recommend these to an amateur who has not learned how much force to apply to a brass valve until it breaks, best tip is to turn it only a fraction each way until it frees, or to turn the valve once a year or so to keep it free.

www.screwfix.com/p/monument-tools-stopcock-key-220mm/17971

"Then noticed there’s a lot of water dripping from the shower pump through to the kitchen ceiling below"

Pole a hole in the ceiling with a skewer so the water can drip out, and put a bucket under it.

Once dry, a small hole can easily be repaired.

Water collecting on top of a ceiling will weaken it, and the weight may make it fall down. Houses older than about 1960 often have particularly troublesome ceilings. I had a case where the ceiling fell down more than a week after the leak.

Thank you so much @PigletJohn for all the time you put into that and everyone else for your help. Ended up finding a water tap/lever in the cupboard which turns off some of the supply so didn’t have to wrestle with the downstairs stopcock, and the water stopped flowing soon after. My trusty local plumber was able to visit this morning to check over everything and he’s replacing the pump for a better one tomorrow!

thank you for helping me through my moment of panic!