When something happens · 3 pages

The first ten minutes

What to do first when something goes wrong in the house — before the plumber, before the insurance company, before you've had time to think.

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In almost every household emergency, the right first move is the same: stop the thing that's making it worse. Water, gas, or power. Then call.

Put it on the inside of a kitchen cabinet door.

Water pouring from somewhere

  1. Shut the main water valve (write its location below).
  2. If water is near outlets or the panel, turn off that breaker before you step in.
  3. Photograph the damage before you clean anything.
  4. Call the plumber; then your insurance agent if it's more than a mop-up.
Don't: run fans over wet drywall and call it done. It needs to be opened and dried.

No heat on a freezing night

  1. Check the thermostat batteries and the breaker. Check the filter — a clogged one can shut the furnace down.
  2. Open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls; let the farthest faucet drip.
  3. One space heater per outlet, three feet from anything, never an extension cord.
  4. Call the HVAC company. If the house is below 55°, go somewhere warm for the night.
Don't: use the oven or a grill for heat.

You smell gas

  1. Don't touch a light switch, phone, or anything electrical.
  2. Leave the house. Leave the door open behind you.
  3. From outside, call Atlanta Gas Light's leak line: 877-427-4321. If the smell is strong, call 911.
  4. Don't go back in until they say so.
Don't: try to find the leak yourself.

Power out

  1. Check the main breaker and whether the neighbors are out too.
  2. Report it (Georgia Power: 888-891-0938; other providers below).
  3. Keep the refrigerator closed — it holds 4 hours, a full freezer 48.
  4. Generator outside only, 20 feet from the house, never in the garage.
Don't: run a generator or grill anywhere enclosed. That's carbon monoxide.

Water heater leaking

  1. Turn the cold-water valve on top of the heater off.
  2. Gas: turn the gas valve to "off." Electric: turn off its breaker.
  3. Attach a hose to the bottom drain if it's filling the pan.
  4. Call the plumber. A leaking tank is a replacement, not a repair.

Toilet overflowing

  1. Turn the small valve behind the toilet clockwise.
  2. Lift the tank lid and push the flapper closed.
  3. Plunge once the water drops. If it comes back up in a tub or another drain, stop and call the plumber — that's the main line.

AC quits in July

  1. Check the breaker and the filter.
  2. Look for ice on the copper lines or the indoor coil. If there's ice: turn the system off, fan on, for two hours.
  3. Check the drain pan — a float switch in a full pan shuts the system off. Clear the condensate line.
  4. Still nothing: call. Most summer failures are a capacitor and an hour.

Tree on the roof, or storm damage

  1. Stay out of the room beneath it.
  2. Photograph everything, from the ground, before anyone touches it.
  3. Call your insurance agent, then a roofer you already know for a tarp.
Don't: sign anything with someone who knocks on the door that week.

Smoke or CO alarm

  1. One chirp every minute: it's the battery. Replace it.
  2. Continuous alarm: everyone out, then call 911 from outside. CO has no smell; a headache and dizziness in more than one person is the sign.

A fall, chest pain, or confusion

  1. Call 911 first. Everything else on this page can wait.
  2. Unlock the front door for the paramedics.
  3. Have the medication list where you can hand it over.
Main water shutoff is
Gas shutoff is
Electrical panel is
Plumber
Heating & cooling
Electrician
Power company & outage line
Water company
Insurance agent
Neighbor who has a key

Utility numbers above are the main lines for Atlanta Gas Light and Georgia Power; check them against your bill, and write in yours if you're on Sawnee or Cobb EMC.

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