Plumbing answers for Edmond & Oklahoma City homes.

Most homes here have two places to stop the water: the city meter box near the street or curb, and a house shut-off valve where the water line enters the home, often in the garage, a utility closet near the water heater, or a small box in the ground near the foundation.

Many slab homes in central Oklahoma were built without an obvious indoor shut-off, so the meter box is the one to know. It sits under a round or rectangular lid in the yard or parkway. The valve at the meter turns a quarter turn with a meter key or a wrench until the two holes on the valve line up.

Find yours on a calm day, not during a leak. If the valve is buried, stuck or missing, a plumber can add a house shut-off you can reach in seconds.

Shut the water off at the main valve or the meter, then open a faucet at the lowest point of the house to drain the pressure. That stops the damage from growing while you call a plumber.

If water is near outlets, light fixtures or the electrical panel, stay out of the water and switch off the affected breakers only if you can reach the panel safely on dry ground. Move what you can out of the wet area, take photos for your insurance company, and start drying things out with towels and fans.

Leave the building right away, then call 911 and Oklahoma Natural Gas at 800-458-4251 from outside or from a neighbor’s house. Natural gas is given a rotten-egg smell so that you will notice it.

On your way out, do not flip light switches, use a phone, start a car in the garage or light anything. Do not go looking for the leak and do not try to shut off appliances. Wait outside until the gas company or the fire department says it is safe. Once they have made the house safe, a licensed plumber can repair the gas piping.

Close the cold-water valve on the pipe above the water heater to stop the tank from refilling, and keep people away from any hot water on the floor. For an electric water heater, switch off its breaker at the panel.

For a gas water heater, do not work on the gas controls or piping yourself. If you smell gas at any point, leave the house and call 911 and Oklahoma Natural Gas at 800-458-4251 from outside.

A drip from a fitting or valve can often be repaired. Water coming from the tank itself means the tank has failed and the heater needs to be replaced.

Turn the small valve on the wall behind the toilet clockwise until the water stops. If that valve is stuck, lift the tank lid and raise the float to stop the fill, then shut the water off at the main.

Do not keep flushing to try to clear it. If more than one drain in the house is slow or backing up at the same time, the stoppage is in the main line, not the toilet.

It means the main sewer line is blocked, and wastewater is coming out at the lowest drain in the house. Stop running water everywhere, including the washing machine and dishwasher, until it is cleared.

In established Edmond and Oklahoma City neighborhoods the usual causes are tree roots in older clay or cast-iron pipe, a sagging or broken section of line, or wipes and grease. Keep children and pets away from the water and call a plumber to clear and inspect the line.

Central Oklahoma’s red clay soil swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries out, so a concrete slab and the pipes beneath it are always being pushed and pulled a little. Over years, that movement and the wear it causes can open a leak in a water line under the floor.

Many homes in the Oklahoma City metro are built slab-on-grade with water lines run under or in the concrete. Copper lines can also wear thin where they rub against the slab or rock, and hot-water lines tend to go first because they expand and contract every time they are used.

The common signs are a warm spot on the floor, the sound of running water when nothing is on, a water bill that jumps without explanation, damp carpet or flooring that lifts, and a water heater that seems to run constantly.

You may also see new cracks in walls or flooring, or soggy ground along the foundation. None of these proves a slab leak alone, but two or three together are worth a test.

Turn off every faucet and water-using appliance, then look at the water meter. If the small leak indicator is turning, or the reading changes after 30 to 60 minutes with no water used, water is escaping somewhere.

To narrow it down, close the house shut-off valve if you have one and check again. If the meter stops, the leak is in the house. If it keeps moving, the leak is in the service line between the meter and the house. Put a few drops of food coloring in each toilet tank too; color that reaches the bowl without flushing means a leaking flapper.

There are three main approaches: open the slab at the leak and repair that spot, reroute the leaking line through the walls or attic so it no longer runs under the slab, or repipe the house when the under-slab piping is failing in more than one place.

A spot repair costs less up front but leaves the rest of the old line in the ground. A reroute avoids breaking up the floor and takes the pipe out of the moving soil. The right choice depends on the age and material of the pipe, where the leak is, and whether it is the first leak or the third.

Keeping soil moisture steady around the foundation can reduce the swelling and shrinking that stresses a slab and the pipes under it. It is foundation care, though, not a fix for a leak that has already started.

The goal is even moisture, not soaked ground. Make sure gutters and downspouts carry water away from the house, and remember that a leaking pipe under the slab adds water in one spot, which can cause the same kind of movement you are trying to prevent.

Most of the small earthquakes felt in central Oklahoma do not damage residential plumbing. A stronger one can crack older, brittle pipe such as cast iron or clay, or loosen a joint that was already weak.

After a quake you clearly felt, walk the house: look at the water heater and its connections, check under sinks, and watch the water meter with everything turned off. If you smell gas, leave and call 911 and Oklahoma Natural Gas at 800-458-4251 from outside.

It depends on your policy. Many policies help with sudden water damage and with the cost of getting to the pipe, but not with repairing the pipe itself, and most exclude leaks that have gone on for a long time.

Call your agent before work starts, take photos, and keep the damaged section of pipe if your insurer asks for it. A clear written description of what was found and what was repaired makes a claim easier.

Yes, Edmond water is generally moderately hard to hard, and it varies by neighborhood and season. The city blends surface water from Arcadia Lake, groundwater from wells in the Garber-Wellington aquifer, and water purchased from Oklahoma City, and each source has a different mineral content.

Published figures for Edmond’s city water are around 8 grains per gallon on average, with well water running harder than lake water. A simple hardness test at your own tap tells you more than any citywide average.

In much of Oklahoma City, yes. Hardness depends on which treatment plant serves your address, so two homes across town from each other can have noticeably different water.

Oklahoma City’s supply comes from a system of lakes that includes Hefner, Overholser and Stanley Draper. The signs of hard water are the same everywhere: white crust on faucets and shower heads, spots on dishes, stiff laundry and a water heater that rumbles.

You do not need one for safety, since hard water is not a health problem. A softener is worth considering when scale is shortening the life of your water heater, clogging faucets and shower valves, or leaving spots and film you are tired of cleaning.

Have the water tested first, so the equipment is sized for your actual hardness and household. A softener needs a drain, power and a place for salt, and people on sodium-restricted diets may want an unsoftened line to the kitchen cold tap.

A tank water heater typically lasts about 8 to 12 years. Hard water shortens that, because minerals settle in the bottom of the tank, make the burner or elements work harder and speed up corrosion.

The age is usually coded into the serial number on the label. If your heater is past ten years and showing rust, moisture at the base or rumbling noises, plan the replacement before it picks the day for you.

That sound is almost always mineral sediment in the bottom of the tank. Water trapped under the layer of scale boils and pops its way through it as the burner or element heats.

It is common with hard water. Flushing the tank can help if it is done regularly, but a tank that has never been flushed in many years may have too much buildup to clear, and the noise is a sign it is working harder than it should.

A tank heater costs less to install and is simple to maintain. A tankless heater costs more up front, heats water only when you use it, takes up less space and does not run out, as long as it is sized for the home.

Two things matter here in particular. Tankless units are sensitive to hard water and need to be flushed to remove scale, typically once a year. And a gas tankless unit often needs a larger gas line and different venting than the tank it replaces, which is work for a licensed plumber.

For an electric water heater, check whether its breaker has tripped. For a gas water heater, look at the status light or display on the control, and read the instructions printed on the tank label.

If a breaker trips again after you reset it, leave it off and call. Do not take the gas control apart or work on the gas line, and if you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 and Oklahoma Natural Gas from outside. Lukewarm water that runs out fast usually points to a failed heating element, a broken dip tube or heavy sediment.

The temperature and pressure relief valve is a safety device, and a drip means either the valve is worn or the pressure in the tank is getting too high. It should never be capped or plugged.

High pressure often comes from thermal expansion: heated water has nowhere to go in a closed system. An expansion tank or a pressure regulator usually solves it. Have a plumber check it, because the valve is there to keep the tank from becoming dangerous.

Pipes are at real risk when the outside temperature drops to about 20°F or lower for several hours, and sooner where wind reaches the pipe. Lines in exterior walls, attics, crawl spaces and garages are the most exposed.

Homes here are built for heat more than deep cold, so pipes often run through places with little insulation. During the February 2021 cold wave Oklahoma City fell to −14°F on February 16, its coldest reading since 1899, and frozen and burst pipes were reported across the metro.

Disconnect garden hoses, cover outdoor faucets, open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls, keep the heat on at 55°F or higher, and let faucets on exterior walls run at a slow, steady drip.

Keep the garage door closed if water lines or the water heater are in the garage. Know where your main shut-off is and make sure it turns. If you have a sprinkler system, have it shut off and drained before the first hard freeze.

Yes, when temperatures fall well below freezing, especially into the teens or lower. Moving water is harder to freeze, and an open faucet relieves the pressure that actually splits a pipe.

A thin, steady stream about the width of a pencil lead is enough. Drip the faucets that are on exterior walls or farthest from where the water enters the house, and open both the hot and cold sides.

Leave the faucet open and warm the frozen section gently with a hair dryer, a heating pad or a space heater kept well away from anything that can burn. Never use a torch or any open flame.

Find your main shut-off before the pipe thaws. A frozen pipe often has a split you cannot see, and it will not leak until the ice melts. If you cannot reach the frozen section, or water appears in a wall or ceiling, shut the water off and call a plumber.

Shut the water off at the main valve or the meter, leave the heat on at 55°F or higher, and open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls.

With the water off, open a faucet for a moment to relieve the pressure. If you have a tank water heater, use its vacation setting if it has one. Ask a neighbor to look in on the house during a long cold snap.

Yes. A frost-free faucet only works when it can drain, so a hose, splitter or timer left attached traps water inside and lets it freeze and split the pipe within the wall.

The break is usually hidden until spring, when you turn the faucet on and water runs inside the wall instead of out the spout. Take hoses off before the first freeze every year.

If the house has structural damage, treat gas first: if you smell gas or hear hissing, get away from the building and call 911 and Oklahoma Natural Gas at 800-458-4251. Then shut the water off at the meter if any water lines are broken.

Do not use a water heater that has shifted, tipped or lost its vent until it has been checked. Look at exposed pipes, outdoor faucets and the water meter for leaks, and follow any boil-water notice from your city’s utility before drinking tap water.

A drain that clogs again and again has a cause that was never removed: buildup lining the pipe, a section that has sagged and holds water, roots in the sewer line, or a venting problem.

Kitchen lines usually clog with grease and food, and bathroom lines with hair and soap. If clearing it only buys a few weeks, the line needs to be cleaned properly or looked at with a camera rather than opened one more time.

We do not recommend them. Liquid drain cleaners are caustic, they can damage older pipes and finishes, and they often sit on top of the clog without clearing it.

They also leave a drain full of chemicals that can burn whoever opens it next. A plunger or a small hand auger is safer for a simple clog. If you have already used a chemical cleaner, tell your plumber before work starts.

The usual signs are drains that slow down throughout the house, gurgling toilets, and backups that return every few months, often worse after rain. A camera inspection confirms it.

Roots find their way into the joints of older clay and cast-iron sewer pipe, which is common in established neighborhoods of Edmond and Oklahoma City with mature trees. Cutting the roots restores flow for a while; a damaged section of pipe has to be repaired or replaced to stop them coming back.

Look for a capped pipe, usually three or four inches across, in the ground near the foundation on the side of the house that faces the sewer main, or in a flower bed close to a bathroom. Some homes have it inside the garage or on an outside wall.

Many older homes in the metro have no outside cleanout at all, which makes clearing the main line harder and messier. Adding one is a worthwhile upgrade the next time the line is worked on.

In most cities, including Edmond and Oklahoma City, the homeowner is generally responsible for the private lines serving the house: the water line from the meter to the home and the sewer line from the home to the city main. The city maintains the mains and the meter.

The exact point where responsibility changes is set by each city, so confirm with your utility before paying for a repair near the street. Edmond customers can contact City of Edmond Water Resources, and Oklahoma City customers can contact the Utilities Department.

The most common cause is a worn flapper that no longer seals, letting water leak from the tank into the bowl so the fill valve keeps topping it up. A fill valve set too high or a chain that is too short will do the same thing.

A running toilet can waste hundreds of gallons a day, enough to show clearly on a water bill. The parts are inexpensive, and it is one of the quickest repairs a plumber makes.

If only one faucet is weak, the aerator or cartridge is probably clogged with mineral scale. If the whole house is weak, look for a partly closed valve, a failing pressure regulator, a leak, or old galvanized pipe that has rusted nearly shut inside.

Check both hot and cold. Low pressure on the hot side only points to the water heater or its valves. A sudden drop across the house, with no work going on in the street, is worth a call, because it can mean a leak in the service line.

A sudden jump usually means a leak: most often a running toilet, then a dripping outdoor faucet, a sprinkler system leak, or a leak in the service line or under the slab.

Do the meter test: turn everything off and see whether the meter still moves. If it does and the toilets pass a dye test, the leak is somewhere you cannot see, and it is time to have it located.

Yes. Plumbing in Oklahoma is licensed by the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board, known as the CIB. The state licenses plumbing contractors and journeymen and registers apprentices, who must work under a licensed plumber.

An active plumbing contractor must also keep a $5,000 surety bond and at least $50,000 of commercial general liability insurance on file with the CIB. Cities such as Edmond and Oklahoma City add their own registration and permit requirements on top of the state license.

Ask for the plumber’s name and license number, then look it up with the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board’s online license search at cib.ok.gov. It shows the license type and whether it is active.

It takes about a minute and any reputable plumber expects you to check. If someone cannot give you a license number, or the search shows the license expired or belonging to a different person, keep looking.

In most cases, yes. Cities in the Oklahoma City metro generally require a plumbing permit and an inspection for water heater replacement, new or replaced gas piping, and water or sewer line replacement.

The licensed contractor doing the work normally pulls the permit. The inspection is there for your protection: it confirms that venting, relief valves, gas connections and pipe slopes meet code. Rules differ a little from city to city, so ask your plumber what your city requires.

Yes. Oklahoma law requires anyone who digs to contact OKIE811, by calling 811 or going online, a few business days before work starts, so that buried gas, electric and communication lines can be marked. The service is free.

The locate covers utility-owned lines, not private ones such as sprinkler pipe or a line to a shop. Your plumber normally makes the request for a line repair, but the rule applies to homeowners too, even for a fence post or a tree.

Ask for the license number, proof of insurance, a clear price before work begins, who will actually be doing the work, and what happens if the repair does not hold.

Listen to how the problem is explained. A good plumber tells you what is wrong in plain words, gives you choices when there are choices, and does not push the most expensive one. Recent reviews from neighbors are worth more than an advertisement.

Repair makes sense for a single failure in pipe that is otherwise sound. When galvanized water lines are rusting shut or cast-iron drains are cracking in several places, replacing them costs less over time than repeated repairs.

Galvanized steel corrodes from the inside, which shows up as low pressure and rusty water. Cast iron under a slab eventually thins along the bottom. A plumber can show you what the pipe looks like so the decision rests on what is actually there.

Moore Faith Plumbing LLC is based in Edmond, Oklahoma, and works in Edmond and the north Oklahoma City metro.

If you are not sure whether you are in the service area, call 405-618-2469 and ask. You will get a straight answer.

It is the promise the company was started on, in the owner’s own words: “I stand behind my work and I love Jesus!” It means the job is done properly, and if something we did is not right, we want to hear about it and make it right.

Customers have described it their own way: correcting corners that were cut when a house was built, fixing a leak quickly at a fair price, and being the plumber a family calls for every job. Ask us about the specifics for your repair before work begins.