Water is pouring out of somewhere it shouldn’t be. Before you search for a plumber, do these three things: shut off the water, kill power to the affected area if outlets are wet, and take photos. The next ten minutes matter more than the next ten hours. Here’s the triage, from a Sherwood plumber.
What actually counts as a plumbing emergency?
- A burst or actively spraying pipe. Every minute puts gallons into your walls and floors.
- Sewage backing up into tubs, showers, or floor drains. This is a health issue, not just a mess.
- No water at all to the house, or a main shutoff that won’t close.
- Gas smell near a water heater or appliance. That one skips the plumber: leave the house and call NW Natural’s emergency line (800-882-3377) first.
- No hot water in winter with vulnerable people in the house — urgent, if not flood-grade.
A dripping faucet, a slow drain, or a running toilet feels bad but can wait for a scheduled visit without damaging your home. Knowing the difference saves you money and panic.
The 60-second triage checklist
- Find your main shutoff valve — ideally before you ever need it. In most Sherwood-area homes it’s one of three places: where the water line enters the house (often the garage or crawlspace wall), at the pressure regulator, or in the meter box at the street. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
- For a fixture-level problem, use the local stop first: the oval handles under sinks and toilets. Quarter-turn valves just need a 90-degree turn.
- If water reached outlets or fixtures, flip the breaker for that room before you touch standing water.
- Open a low faucet (an outside hose bib or a ground-floor tub) to drain pressure out of the system.
- Take photos and video of everything before you clean up. Your insurance adjuster will want them, and so will we.
What to do before the plumber arrives
- Move furniture, rugs, and anything electronic out of the wet zone.
- Towels and a shop vac beat waiting. The first hour determines whether drywall dries out or comes out.
- Run fans and open windows if the weather cooperates.
- Write down what happened and when — what you heard, where it started. It shortens the diagnosis.
- If sewage is involved, keep kids and pets away from the area and skip the DIY cleanup beyond containment. For recurring backups, the fix is usually in the line itself — see our sewer line repair and drain cleaning pages for what that looks like.
How to think about emergency plumbing costs
In the Portland metro, after-hours callouts from shops that offer them typically carry a premium on top of normal rates — often a flat after-hours fee plus elevated hourly pricing. That’s the market, not a scam. But most “emergencies” that are contained (water off, area drying) can be handled next business day at regular rates, which is why the shutoff valve knowledge above is worth real money.
Where we fit
Sherwood Plumbing Company runs Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm. We are not a 24/7 shop — and we’d rather tell you that plainly than imply otherwise. What we do offer: next-business-day priority scheduling for genuine emergencies. If your pipe burst at 9pm, shut the water off using the checklist above, contain the damage, and call us at (503) 822-5070 first thing in the morning — we’ll get you to the front of the line. Serving Sherwood, Tualatin, Tigard, Beaverton, and nearby.