Some problems can’t wait
Trusted Emergency Plumber in Swannanoa
Burst pipes, sewage backups and leaking water heaters around Swannanoa, handled whenever they happen.
What a Good Emergency Call Ends With
When you call an emergency plumber in Swannanoa, you want the water stopped and a straight answer about what failed. We answer 24/7, holidays included, and Sarah picks up after hours. Owner Ian O’Shea comes out for an emergency the same as he does for a scheduled job. Ian O’Shea has worked as a plumber since 2003 and is licensed in North Carolina as a Plumbing Class I Contractor. If the damage grows by the hour, it’s an emergency. That covers water spreading where it shouldn’t, sewage coming up into the house and the smell of gas. A house with no water, or no toilet that works, counts too.
Plumbing Services in Swannanoa
Close the nearest valve if you can reach it safely. Then call (828) 348-5820 and describe what’s happening.
Main Water Shutoff and Fixture Valves
The quickest way to stop most leaks is the smallest valve that controls them. A toilet’s valve sits low on the wall behind it, and most sinks have a hot and a cold valve inside the cabinet. When the leak isn’t at a fixture, or you can’t tell where it’s coming from, close the main water shutoff for the whole house. Find it on a quiet afternoon, because hunting for it with a flashlight while water runs costs time you don’t have.
Burst Pipe or Broken Line in the House
A burst pipe lets water out as fast as the supply can push it, and every minute it runs adds to the water damage. Close the main first and deal with the mess after. Not every break is a split pipe. Supply hoses on washers and toilets let go too, and so do fittings that have corroded for years. A break can also travel past your own walls. Nine South, inside Black Mountain’s town limits, is made up of duplex-style townhomes. A line that breaks on a shared wall there can wet the unit next door. If you share a wall, tell the neighbor as soon as your own water is off.
In the December 2022 freeze, City of Asheville water crews answered more than a dozen line breaks. Frozen pipes in crawl spaces and along outside walls split in that kind of cold. If a line froze, close the main before it warms up, then call. We handle that frozen and burst pipe repair too.
Overflowing Toilets and Sewage Backups
An overflowing toilet is often a problem with that toilet alone. Lift the tank lid and press the flapper down to stop more water from pouring into the bowl. A sewage backup is bigger. Dirty water rising in a tub, shower or basement floor drain means the line carrying everything out of the house has stopped moving. During a backup, every drain in the house leads to the same blocked spot, so nobody should use any of them. On homes with a sewage pump, a high water alarm usually sounds before anything overflows. While you wait:
A high water alarm means the water in the basin has climbed higher than the pump should ever let it. We start at the pump, its float switch and its check valve. When a sewage pump failure is the cause, we take on the sewage pump repair and replacement that gets the house draining again.
If You Smell Gas, Get Out First
A gas smell is the one plumbing emergency where we should be your second call. Get out of the house first, then call the gas utility, and let their crew handle the gas shutoff at the meter. Once the utility says the house is safe, a leak on your side of the meter is ours to find and fix with gas leak detection.
A Water Heater Leak After Dark
A water heater leak can be urgent or can wait, depending on where the water’s coming from. If the relief valve’s discharge pipe keeps running hot water, call right away, because the tank is building too much heat or pressure. A drip from a heater in an attic or a finished basement is urgent too, because it soaks the ceiling or floor below.
A Few Details That Change the Visit
Start with what’s wrong and where it is in the house, then add anything that helps us find you after dark. High Rock Acres, a few minutes south of Black Mountain, has nothing but gravel roads. A road name and a landmark help us find the right drive after hours. Lots in Fairview’s Drovers Road Preserve run up to almost 9 acres, so say so if the house can’t be seen from the road. Businesses call the same number, and weekend plumbing trouble at a shop or an office gets the same answer a home does. When you call, also mention:
What We Check When We Get There
Our first job at the house is making it safe. We confirm the water or gas is off and that nothing electrical is wet before we work on the plumbing. Then we find where the failure is, which isn’t always where the water showed up. Water runs along joists and pipes, and a stain can sit well away from the leak. A split section gets cut out and replaced, a failed hose or valve gets swapped and a blocked line gets cleared. Once the water’s back on, we run the fixtures and watch the repair for drips. Some emergencies end with a lasting fix that night, and others get a temporary repair with the permanent work planned for daylight. That later visit is part of our regular plumbing services. “I will definitely be using their services again for any future plumbing needs,” Zane Williams wrote in his review. O’Sheas Plumbing is insured, and it backs its work with a satisfaction guarantee.
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You won’t find a better plumber in Swannanoa
Call or text (828) 348-5820, day or night.
Did you know?
A Scottish watchmaker gave us the curve under your sink. In 1775, Alexander Cumming added an S-shaped bend to the toilet’s waste pipe that always holds a little water. That little pool’s what still keeps sewer smells out of the house.
FAQs About Emergency Plumber in Swannanoa
Some decisions have to be made in the minutes between spotting trouble and picking up the phone. Don’t see what you’re looking for? Ask a question here.
Not if you’re on City of Asheville water, as Swannanoa homes on public water are. The valve in the meter box, often called the curb stop, is on the city’s side. Lids on the city’s newer meters are locked, and the city says it’s a misdemeanor for a customer to turn off service there. In an emergency, the city’s water staff will shut it off for you. A working valve on your side of the meter saves that call, and Ian can add one if the house doesn’t have one.
Don’t put a pipe wrench or a cheater bar on it. An old valve stem can snap under that kind of force, and then the valve can’t be closed at all. Firm, steady hand pressure is as far as you should go. If it still won’t move, close whatever fixture valves you can reach and call us. Once the emergency’s over, replace a main valve that wouldn’t close.
Usually not on its own. A cold shower is miserable, but nothing in the house is getting damaged. It moves up the list when the heater is also leaking or you smell gas near it. On an electric heater, check the breaker once, and if it trips again, leave it off and call.
They can smell almost the same. Utilities add an odorant to natural gas so a leak gets noticed, and sewer gas has a sulfur smell of its own. If you can’t tell which it is, treat it as gas.
Go easy on it. The pump runs on electricity. During an outage, anything draining into its basin stays there. The basin only holds so much before sewage backs up into the lowest fixtures. Hold off on laundry, showers and extra flushes on that level until the power is back.
Keep out of any water that’s touching outlets, cords or appliances. If you can reach the main breaker from a dry spot, switch it off. If the panel is wet, or you’d have to cross water to reach it, leave it alone and call your electric utility or an electrician. Then close the main water shutoff if you can reach it without crossing the wet area.
Close the two valves in the wall box behind the washer, or the main shutoff if you can’t reach them. With those valves open, the hose stays under full water pressure even when the machine is off, so a split keeps flowing until a valve closes. Rubber hoses get brittle with age. A braided stainless replacement holds up better, and the valves get checked to make sure they’ll close next time.
Ask a neighbor first. If their water’s off too, the problem is on the utility’s side. If it’s only your house, a frozen line is a good bet in winter. Any other time, look for a soggy patch in the yard or listen for running water. A break on your side of the meter can drain the pressure.
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Copyright © 2026 O’Sheas Plumbing · Ian O’Shea, Licensed Plumber NC Plumbing Class I Contractor L.34576 · 150 Old Lytle Cove Rd, Swannanoa, NC 28778