Shut off the water first
Most Puyallup homes have the main shutoff where the water line enters the house: in the crawl space, the garage, under a sink or near the water heater. Many also have a valve at the meter box by the street. If you cannot find either one, the city or your water district can shut it at the meter.
Once the water is off, open a faucet on the lowest level to drain the lines. If water is coming through a ceiling, poke a small hole at the lowest point of the sag and catch it in a bucket. That is better than letting the whole ceiling come down.
Where the damage hides
A pipe that breaks inside a wall or ceiling can send water a long way before you see it. Water runs along framing, soaks insulation and pools on the floor below. A crew will:
- Map wet areas with moisture meters and thermal cameras, including behind cabinets and under flooring.
- Open walls or ceilings only where they need to so air can reach wet framing.
- Dry the structure with dehumidifiers and air movers, then confirm it is dry before anything gets closed back up.
The plumbing repair itself is usually a separate call to a plumber, and the restoration company can often help you line one up.
When Puyallup pipes freeze
Puyallup winters are usually mild and wet, so a hard freeze catches people off guard. When an arctic air mass does settle in, temperatures can stay below freezing for days, and the hills get colder than the valley floor. South Hill, Bonney Lake and the higher ground toward Graham often see snow and ice when downtown only gets rain.
The pipes that freeze first are the ones nobody thinks about: lines in crawl spaces with gaps in the skirting or vents left open, hose bibs without covers, supply lines in exterior walls and pipes running through unheated garages. The break often happens at night, and the leak shows up when the pipe thaws the next day.
If a cold snap is in the forecast, cover hose bibs, close crawl space vents for the duration, open cabinet doors on outside walls and keep the heat on in any house that will sit empty.