What to Do During a Plumbing Emergency: Step-by-Step Guide for Nashville & Franklin Homeowners

1. Make it safe. Watch for electricity and gas before you do anything else.
2. Stop the water. Shut off the main for a burst line, and stop using every fixture for a sewage backup.
3. Stay out of sewage. Keep kids and pets away, and wear protection if you must go in.
4. Call the right people. A 24/7 plumber for problems in your own lines, and the utility for problems in the public system.
5. Document it. Take photos and video before you clean, and call your insurance company.

Prodigy Sewer & Drain handles sewer backups, drain failures, burst sewer and drain lines, sump pump problems, and hidden-leak detection around the clock. If you’re reading this mid-emergency, our emergency plumber line is (629) 276-6322.

Water and electricity are a dangerous mix. The CDC’s floodwater safety guidance says that when water is in your home, you should turn off gas, power, and water, to avoid fire, electrocution, or explosions. In practice:

• Only go to the breaker panel if you can reach it without standing in water. If the panel is in a wet basement, stay out and let a professional or your utility handle it.
• If you smell gas, leave the house. Call 911 or your gas utility from outside. Don’t flip switches or use a phone inside.
• If anyone may have been shocked, call 911. The CDC says to call right away if you believe someone has been electrocuted.

What you do depends on where the water is coming from.

• A burst or leaking water line: shut off the main water supply. Find the valve now, before you need it. It’s usually where the water line enters the house, such as a basement wall, crawlspace, or garage.
• A sewage backup: stop using water everywhere in the house. That means no flushing, showers, laundry, or dishwasher. Every drop you send down the drain has nowhere to go and can make the backup worse.

Sewage-contaminated water can make people sick. The CDC notes that floodwater may contain sewage, and that contact can cause problems like wound infections, skin rashes, and stomach illness. Its guidance is simple: the best way to protect yourself is to stay out of the water. If you have to go in:

• Wear rubber boots, rubber gloves, and goggles.
• Wash your hands with soap and water afterward, and wash clothes that touched sewage in hot water and detergent.
• Keep children out of the area and don’t let them play with anything that got wet with sewage and hasn’t been disinfected.

Not every emergency goes to the same phone number. This table sorts it out.

A note on who owns what. Metro Water Services’ private sewer service line policy says Nashville customers are responsible for the sewer line from the building all the way to the public sewer main, and that there is no city-owned section of that private line. MWS may be able to assist in the easement area, which is commonly about 10 feet on each side of the main. In Franklin, the City’s sanitary sewer release page says a backup into a building caused by a blockage in a private lateral is not counted as a city release. For the emergency numbers, see Metro Water Services’ Request Emergency Service page, which lists overflowing sewers, street-side leaks, and flooding as 24/7 reports.

Insurance companies want evidence. Triple-I (the Insurance Information Institute) recommends taking photos of the affected areas, itemizing property losses, saving all receipts for repairs and cleaning, and contacting your insurance professional as soon as possible. Triple-I also notes that sewer backup coverage is available from most insurers at a nominal cost, so ask your agent whether your policy includes it. Don’t wait until you need it to find out.

• Take photos and short videos of the water, the source, and damaged items before you move anything.
• Write down what was damaged and roughly what it cost.
• Ask your plumber for written documentation. Prodigy provides camera footage and a written report to support claims.

A sewage backup is the emergency we see most. The warning signs are sewage rising in toilets, tubs, or floor drains, several fixtures backing up at once, or a toilet that overflows into the tub or shower, which is a classic main-line signal. Our emergency sewer backup service is built for exactly this.

1. Stop using all water in the house.
2. Turn off power to the affected area only if you can do it safely.
3. Keep everyone, including pets, out of the area.
4. Call a plumber who can clear the main line and diagnose the cause on camera.
5. Photograph everything before cleanup begins.

Once the line is clear, cleanup matters. The CDC’s guidance for water that may contain sewage: throw away items that can’t be disinfected, such as drywall, rugs, and cloth; clean walls and hard surfaces with soap and water, then disinfect with a mixture of 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water; and use fans and dehumidifiers to dry the area. Triple-I’s cleanup list adds wet-vacuuming standing water, flushing out and disinfecting plumbing fixtures, and removing wet carpet.

For a small, contained spill, careful cleanup with protective gear may be manageable. For anything widespread, a professional restoration company is the safer call. Prodigy clears the backup, contains the spill, and can coordinate a restoration partner for extensive cleanup.

Burst pipes are common after hard freezes. Middle Tennessee winter freeze events are a frequent cause of sudden line failures, and thawing frozen pipes can cause leaks that show up without warning. Prodigy repairs burst sewer and drain lines, which can leak sewage into a yard, crawlspace, or wall cavity. If the problem is a burst water supply line, the first steps are the same:

1. Shut off the main water supply.
2. Turn off the water heater’s power or gas if the heater may be affected.
3. Move belongings out of the water’s path and soak up standing water if it’s safe.
4. Take photos, then call a licensed plumber. For a burst supply line or water heater, choose a plumber who handles that work.

If you can’t find where water is going, a hidden leak may be the cause. Leak detection can pinpoint it without tearing open walls.

A failed sump pump is a frequent cause of basement water. Prodigy offers sump pump repair for pumps that aren’t running.

• “Are you licensed and insured?” Get a clear yes before anyone enters your home.
• “Is this a real 24/7 dispatch?” Ask whether full-time technicians answer, or an on-call subcontractor.
• “What fees apply?” Prodigy publishes its emergency dispatch fees: $29 standard and $250 after hours. The repair cost is confirmed after a free camera inspection, and you approve it before work starts.
• “Will you camera the line and show me the footage?” A camera inspection shows the real cause, so you fix the problem and not just the symptom.
• “Will you document the work for my insurance?” Ask for footage and a written report.

Most sewer emergencies have a cause you can address. Our guide to sewer line backup causes in Nashville explains what to look for. A few habits help right away:

• Keep the wrong things out of the drain. Metro Water Services lists “flushable” wipes, paper towels, cotton swabs, feminine products, hair, dental floss, and fats, oils, and grease as items that belong in the trash, not down the drain.
• Plan before you plant. MWS recommends keeping trees and shrubs at least 10 feet from your sewer line, and planting water-hungry trees 20 to 30 feet away.
• Consider a backwater valve. Triple-I describes it as a fixture that lets sewage go out but not come back in, and says to use a qualified plumber to install it.
• Schedule maintenance. For many Franklin homes, Prodigy suggests hydro jetting about once a year, and a camera check can show whether a recurring clog is really a damaged pipe.
• Know where your shutoffs are. Find your main water valve and your cleanout today, and tell everyone in the house.

We serve homeowners across Nashville and Franklin, and our full emergency sewer and drain services page lists everything we handle after hours.

A plumbing emergency is stressful, but the first few minutes follow a pattern: make it safe, stop the water, stay out of sewage, call the right number, and document what happened. Do those in order and you’ll limit the damage and make everything that follows easier.