Washington Plumbing & Drain is open until ten at night on weekdays and through the day on Saturday, and emergency calls outside those hours are answered. Our reviews include middle-of-the-night pipe repairs, holiday backups and weekend water heater replacements, because when Greg and the crew can get there, they go. We do not promise a guaranteed arrival time around the clock, and we will not pretend to. What we promise is a real person on the phone, honest guidance while you wait, and a flat price before we start.
If water is running where it should not be, shut off the main first. If you do not know where it is, call (360) 812-1124 and we will walk you to it. Then we talk about what comes next.
What counts as an emergency and what can wait until morning
A true plumbing emergency is anything that is actively damaging the house or making it unlivable: a burst or split pipe you cannot isolate, a sewer backup coming up through a drain or toilet, a water heater leaking from the tank, a failed main shutoff with water running, no water at all to a house on a well, or a gas smell. Those get the next available plumber, and after hours that means the one who is closest and awake.
Plenty of problems feel urgent and can safely wait for the morning schedule once the water is off. A single clogged toilet when there is a second bathroom, a dripping faucet, a running toilet, a water heater that has gone cold but is not leaking, and a slow drain in one fixture are all same-day or next-day jobs. Calling at eleven at night for a cold shower costs you an after-hours visit for something that could have been a regular appointment the next morning, and we will tell you that on the phone rather than take the trip.
If you are not sure which side of the line you are on, call. Corinne or Greg will ask a few questions and give you a direct answer. Sometimes that answer is a ten-minute fix you can do yourself tonight and a visit tomorrow, and we would rather say so than bill you for the drive.
The first ten minutes: what to do before we arrive
Water: find the main shutoff and close it. In most Kitsap homes it is in the crawlspace near where the water line enters, in a garage, or at the meter box near the street. On a well, shut off the breaker to the pump as well. If a single fixture is the problem, the angle stop under it will do. Then open a low faucet or a hose bib to drain the pressure off the lines so the leak slows to a stop.
Sewage: stop using water everywhere in the house. Every flush and every load of laundry adds to what is coming up. If you have an exterior cleanout, popping the cap will let the backup drain into the yard instead of the house, which is ugly but better than the alternative. Keep people and pets out of the affected area.
Water heater: close the cold supply valve on top of the tank and, for gas, turn the gas valve to off; for electric, shut the breaker. A leaking tank with the supply closed will stop refilling. Gas smell: do not touch switches, get everyone outside, and call the gas company or 911 before you call us. We come after the utility has made the house safe.
The emergencies we see most around Puget Sound
Freeze damage leads the list. The cold snaps in December 2022 and January 2024 split copper lines in crawlspaces, exterior walls and attics across the peninsula, and every one of them showed up as a flood when the thaw came. The ceiling in a Port Orchard living room, the garage in Gig Harbor with wet insulation on the floor, the crawlspace in Belfair running like a creek: those are the photos on this page. We find the split, cut it out, repair it in copper or PEX, and get the water back on to the rest of the house.
Sewer backups come next, usually during the rainy season when roots and groundwater overwhelm an older line, or on a holiday when a house full of guests finds the limit of a tired drain. Our service trucks carry the cable machines to open the line that night, and if it needs the jetter or the camera, we have both on the hydro jetting rig.
Water heaters fail without much warning, often from the bottom of the tank, and a fifty-gallon tank on an upper floor can do a lot of damage in an hour. We stock Bradford White and A. O. Smith tanks in the common sizes and can replace most of them the same day, including weekends. Well failures are the last big one: no water to a rural home in Seabeck or Tahuya is an emergency, and we troubleshoot the pressure switch, tank and pump to get water flowing again.
Flat pricing, even at midnight
An emergency is the worst time to be quoted by the hour with no ceiling. We quote emergency work the same way we quote everything else: a flat price for the repair, sent to your phone and approved before we start. After-hours visits carry an after-hours rate and we tell you that on the phone before dispatching anyone, so you can make the decision with the number in front of you.
We also stop at the point where the emergency is over. Getting the water off and the leak repaired is the emergency. Replacing a whole run of corroded galvanized, or redoing a water heater install that was never to code, is a separate written estimate you can look at in daylight. More than one customer has written about a plumber who told them the fix they were sold by another company was unnecessary, and that applies at night as much as during the day.
After the water stops
We do not do water damage restoration, and we will not pretend to. Once the leak is fixed, we point you to restoration companies we have seen do good work, and we write up what happened, what we found and what we repaired, with photos, in the form your insurance adjuster will ask for. Several of our customers have mentioned that documentation made their claim go through without a fight.
We also look at what caused it. A pipe that froze in a vented crawlspace will freeze again. A sewer line that backed up with roots will fill with roots again. A water heater that failed at twelve years was on schedule, but one that failed at six usually had a pressure problem that will kill the next one too. We tell you what we see so the emergency does not repeat, and the rest of the decision is yours.
Signs you need emergency plumbing
Call if you notice
- Water is running from a pipe, ceiling or wall and you cannot stop it
- Sewage is backing up into a tub, shower, floor drain or toilet
- The water heater is leaking from the tank, not just the fittings
- The main shutoff will not close and a line is leaking
- The well has quit and the house has no water
- A pipe froze and you expect it to split when it thaws
- You smell gas (call the utility first, then us)
- A toilet is overflowing and it is the only bathroom
How a emergency plumbing call goes
Call and get a person
(360) 812-1124 reaches Corinne during business hours and an on-call plumber after. Describe what is happening and we will tell you right away what to shut off.
Stop the water or the sewage
We walk you to the main shutoff, the water heater valves or the cleanout over the phone so the damage stops before the truck arrives.
Honest triage
If it can safely wait until the morning schedule, we say so and save you the after-hours rate. If it cannot, we dispatch the nearest available plumber.
Flat price before work starts
The plumber assesses the problem, sends a flat-rate quote to your phone, and begins only after you approve.
Repair, test and document
The emergency repair is done, the system is tested under pressure or flow, and you get photos and a written description for insurance.
Plan the follow-up
Anything beyond the emergency repair is quoted separately for you to consider in daylight, with referrals to restoration help if the house needs drying out.
Questions we get about emergency plumbing
Are you available 24/7?
We answer emergency calls evenings, weekends and after hours, and our reviews include middle-of-the-night and holiday jobs. We do not guarantee a response at any hour, because sometimes every plumber we have is already on a job. What we guarantee is a real answer about when we can be there.
What should I do while I wait for the plumber?
Shut off the water at the main or at the fixture, open a low faucet to drain pressure, move belongings out of the wet area, and stop using drains if sewage is backing up. We will walk you through all of it on the phone.
Is there an extra charge for after-hours calls?
Yes, there is an after-hours rate, and we tell you what it is on the phone before anyone is dispatched. The repair itself is still a flat price approved before work starts.
Can you replace a water heater on a weekend?
Usually. We stock common tank sizes and have done weekend replacements for many customers. If the exact unit you need is not on the truck, we can often get you temporary hot water and finish the next business day.
My pipes are frozen but have not burst. Is that an emergency?
It is an emergency waiting to happen. Shut off the main, open faucets, and call us. We can thaw lines safely and inspect for splits before the water goes back on, which is far better than discovering the split at three in the morning.
Do you handle sewage backups at night?
Yes. Main line backups are one of the most common after-hours calls we get. The service truck carries the cable machines to open the line, and the camera and jetter are available if the line needs more.
Do you do water damage cleanup?
No. We stop the leak and repair the plumbing, then refer you to a restoration company for drying and rebuilding, and we provide the documentation your insurance needs.
I smell gas. Should I call you first?
No. Get everyone out of the house and call the gas utility or 911 from outside. Once the utility has shut off the meter and the house is safe, call us to find and repair the leak.
Do you come out to Mason County and the Key Peninsula for emergencies?
Yes. We cover Kitsap, Pierce and Mason counties, including Belfair, Shelton, Hoodsport and the Key Peninsula. Drive time is longer to the far ends of our area, and we give you an honest arrival estimate on the phone.