24 Hour Plumber
It's three in the morning, in the middle of a frozen December, and you get up to take a tinkle. You finish your business and go to wash your hands; the water won't get hot. You wait five minutes, hoping that there is some hot water somewhere in your house. Five minutes later, the water is still as freezing as before. You wake up your husband and have him take a trip into the basement to check the water heater. The news he delivers isn't good; the water heater is broken. This definitely isn't good news. It's the dead of winter and you have children who also need water. The thought of having frozen water to shower with in the morning isn't a good one. So what do you do?
Who You Gonna Call?
You have a serious water heating issue, but the plumber you usually call isn't open at three in the morning so what do you do? You can hope and pray that your husband knows what he's doing, or you can call a 24 hour plumber.
A 24 hour plumber is a plumber that not only has normal business hours, but is also on call for specific emergency plumbing/heating issues. He is the one you're going to want to call at three in the morning. Not that your husband can't do it himself, but why take the chance of not having hot water for days and days.
If you have children, it is especially important to have hot water. If you have an infant, it is seriously important to have hot water for sterilization. If your hot water heater is broken, don't wait till the next day to get it fixed, get it fixed now. Call a 24 emergency plumber.
Good In A Pinch, But Costs A Good Penny
You're having problems with your water heater at night; by all means call an out of hours plumber. But if you're going to call one, you need to ready to read the bill when he's done.
Although a 24 hour plumber is wonderful in a heating emergency, the price you pay isn't so wonderful. The rule of thumb for billing in a plumbing emergency is that you pay a lot for your convenience. Most 24 hour plumbers will charge you hourly but not at the normal daily rate. They will usually charge double the normal rate for emergencies during the weekday, and triple rate for emergencies during the weekends. Even if the emergency is fixed within an hour, he will still charge you for an hour, minimum.
If you have a plumbing emergency, and need to contact a 24 hour plumber, do it, but be prepared to pay the price!