5 things every homeowner should do before a plumbing emergency

Preparation that takes ten minutes can save you from a five-figure water-damage claim.

1. Find your main shut-off — today

Walk to it. Turn it. Make sure it actually closes. Most main shut-offs are inside near the water heater, in the garage, or on the exterior near the meter. If yours is seized open or the handle is broken, we replace it as a small job. The middle of a flood is the wrong time to learn it doesn't work.

2. Label your panel

Mark which breaker controls the water heater, the well pump (if you have one), and the dishwasher. In a leak you may need to kill power to those before water reaches them. Labels take five minutes and save real time when it counts.

3. Stock two essentials

A roll of plumber's putty and a pack of pipe-thread tape live for a long time in a drawer and have stopped countless small leaks long enough to wait until morning. A flashlight in the same drawer doesn't hurt. None of this is fancy.

4. Save your plumber's number in your phone

Sounds obvious, until you're standing in two inches of water trying to remember the company name from a magnet on your fridge. Save it now. We don't mind the contact, and the customers who call us first usually don't end up with a flooded basement.

5. Take a 60-second video

Walk through your house with the camera rolling — under every sink, around every toilet, behind the washer, around the water heater. Save it to the cloud. If you ever file an insurance claim, that pre-loss video makes the adjuster's job easier and your settlement faster.