Smell gas right now? Stop reading. Leave the building now and take everyone with you. Once you are outside and away, call 877.427.4321 (Atlanta Gas Light, 24 hours) or 911.
Is This a Plumbing Emergency? What Can Wait Until Morning
Two minutes to sort it
Smell gas? Leave now, and once you are well away from the house, call 877.427.4321 or 911. Anything else, read on: we will sort it into tonight and tomorrow.
Leave first, then call
- Gas smell. Everyone out of the house, touching no switches, lighters or flashlights on the way. Once you are well away from the house, call Atlanta Gas Light at 877.427.4321 or 911. Not sure Atlanta Gas Light serves your home? Call 911. Stay out until the gas utility or emergency personnel say it is safe. The full steps.
- Headache, dizziness, nausea or confusion near a fuel-burning appliance. Treat it as possible carbon monoxide: get everyone outside to fresh air, call 911, and do not go back in until it is deemed safe.
Stop the water or power first, then call
These move fast. Do the first move yourself, then phone someone.
Water you cannot stop
Shut the main valve if you can reach it without standing in water that touches anything electrical, and leave the faucets turned on. Then call a licensed plumber.
Burst pipe steps. Not sure where the valve is? Where the main water shutoff is.
Sewage in a tub, shower or floor drain
Stop using as much water as you can: no showers, dishwasher or washing machine. Call your water utility's emergency line first: the blockage may be in the public sewer main. If you must go near it, wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles.
A water heater leaking from the tank
If you smell gas at any point, leave first. If the heater is standing in water, cut power at the main breaker only if you can reach the panel without standing in water. If you cannot, stop and call an electrician. To stop the water, shut the main valve if you can reach it without standing in water that touches anything electrical.
Keep people away from the water: water at 140 degrees can burn skin in about six seconds. Get a plumber out the same day. A temperature and pressure relief valve is a safety feature designed to let off excess heat and pressure automatically; one that fails to do that job is a rupture and burn hazard.
Water near outlets, cords or the panel
Stay out of standing water that touches anything electrical. If anything electrical is wet or near water, turn off power at the main breaker or fuse, but only if you do not have to stand in water to reach it. If you do, stop and call an electrician to turn it off.
Sump pit rising, pump silent
If you would have to stand in water to reach the plug, do not touch it: stop and call an electrician. If you can reach it from dry ground, make sure the pump is plugged in. Then check that the outside discharge pipe is not plugged. A float switch that makes poor contact can also keep the pump from turning on.
A faucet that only trickles in a hard freeze
Keep it open and warm the pipe gently with a heating pad, hair dryer or hot towels, on a GFCI outlet with a cord in good condition. Never use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove or any open flame.
Frozen pipes steps. Want it on paper? The Atlanta freeze warning sheet.
Can wait until morning
These are real problems and worth fixing. They are not worth a night call when the water is stopped and nothing is spreading.
A dripping faucet
It wastes water. If nothing is spreading, fix it in daylight.
A running toilet
Gwinnett County says a constantly running toilet could waste 200 gallons or more a day, so fix it soon.
One toilet clogged, nothing else backing up
Close the small valve behind it, turning right until it stops.
If a tub, shower or floor drain also fills, go to toilet overflowing.
Low pressure or a shower that swings hot and cold
Low shower pressure, shower runs hot and cold.
If every faucet is weak or the water is out, that is a different problem: see where the main water shutoff is and call your water utility.
No hot water, no gas smell, no leak
Usually same day, not tonight. If you smell gas at any point, leave first.
A leak you suspect but cannot see
High water bills are often caused by a leak. Run the meter test: stop all water use, then read the meter before and after a stretch with nothing running. If the reading changes at all, you probably have a leak. Then line up a plumber.
Not sure which pile it is in?
Treat it as tonight. Shut off the water if you can reach the valve without standing in water that touches anything electrical, then call. If you smell gas at any point, leave first. A plumber on the phone will sort it faster than a web page can, and the questions on what to ask a plumber before they come out are quick to ask.
We're a referral directory, not a contractor; this button opens our request form.
Questions we hear
Who do I call for a water main break or water in the street?
Your water utility's emergency line, not a plumber. The numbers for Atlanta and ten suburbs are on where the main water shutoff is.
Is a sewer backup the plumber's call or the utility's?
Call the utility's emergency line first. Gwinnett, for one, sends an investigator day or night to check whether the blockage is in the public main, and if it is, the fix may be theirs, not yours. Fulton County, for another, puts a sewer lateral blockage on the owner even inside the public road right-of-way, so ask what they will do.
A water heater that is leaking a little: can it wait?
Not past today. Smell gas at any point? Leave first. If the heater is standing in water, cut power at the main breaker only if you can reach the panel without standing in water; if you cannot, call an electrician. To stop the water, shut the main valve if you can reach it without standing in water that touches anything electrical, then get a plumber the same day.
General information, not professional plumbing advice. In an emergency that threatens life or property, call 911.
Sources
Every number and local fact above comes from one of these, read 2026/10. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
- Atlanta Gas Light: Emergency Information
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Carbon Monoxide Information Center
- CDC: Guidelines for Cleaning Safely After a Disaster
- Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources: Sewer Service Lateral Repair and Cleaning Policy (homeowner handout)
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Energy Efficient Homes: Water Heaters
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve Recall for Large Water Heaters (2009)
- Atlanta Gas Light: Severe Weather Safety
- North Dakota State University Extension: Now Is the Time to Check Your Sump Pump
- American Red Cross: Preventing and Thawing Frozen Pipes
- U.S. EPA WaterSense: Fix a Leak Week
- Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources: Leak Detection
- Georgia Tech Housing and Residence Life: How do I turn off the water?
- Georgia Environmental Protection Division: Guidance to Homeowners for Preventing and Dealing With Frozen Water Pipes (rev. Feb. 2014)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Avoiding Tap Water Scalds
- Fulton County: Water and Sewer Service Laterals (flyer)