When a pipe bursts or a drain backs up, the worst part is not knowing whether anyone will pick up. We answer 24 hours a day, any day, and you’ll hang up with an appointment booked — not a message left on a machine. Same-day service is usually available Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday 6am to 4pm. And if it’s the middle of the night, scroll down: the steps below will help you stop the damage before we get there.
Most of what an emergency costs you happens in the first twenty minutes, before anyone arrives. If you do nothing else, find your main water shut-off and turn it off.
In most Myrtle Beach homes it’s in a meter box near the street, under a metal or plastic lid. Turn the valve clockwise — a meter key makes it easier, though a good pair of pliers will usually do. Some houses also have a second shut-off where the line comes into the house, often near an outside faucet or in the garage.
If you’ve never found yours, go and look now, before you need it in the dark. It’s five minutes well spent.
Turn the water off at the main first, then open the lowest faucet in the house to drain the pressure out of the line. Move furniture and anything valuable out of the wet area, and photograph the damage before you start mopping — your insurance will want to see it.
Once we’re there we’ll find the split, repair or replace the affected section, and check the surrounding run for anything else about to go. Older copper that’s failed in one spot often has company.
If the tank is leaking, shut off the water supply valve on the pipe going into the top of the heater. On a gas heater, turn the gas control dial to “off”. On an electric one, switch it off at the breaker — do that before you go anywhere near standing water.
We repair and replace both tank and tankless units, and we’ll tell you honestly which one your situation calls for rather than defaulting to the bigger sale.
Water off at the main. If water is anywhere near outlets, wiring or the electrical panel, cut the power to that part of the house at the breaker before you touch anything.
Leaks behind walls and under slabs are common in coastal homes and often show up as a warm spot on the floor, a jump in the water bill, or the sound of running water with everything turned off. We locate them without opening up half the house.
Stop running water immediately — no toilets, no washing machine, no dishwasher, no showers. Every drop you send down makes the backup worse. Keep children and pets out of the room; sewage carries bacteria you don’t want on bare skin.
Please don’t pour drain chemicals down it. They won’t clear a main line, and they make the job genuinely hazardous for whoever opens that pipe.
We clear blockages by cabling and we can put a camera down the line to show you exactly what’s causing it — roots, a collapse, or something that shouldn’t have gone down there. If the line itself has failed, we handle sewer line repair and replacement too.
If you smell gas, get everyone out of the house first. Don’t flip light switches on or off, don’t use the phone indoors, and don’t start a car in an attached garage. Once you are outside and well away, call 911 and then your gas company. Let them make the property safe.
Call us after they’ve cleared it. We’ll find the leak, repair or replace the line, and pressure-test it before anything is turned back on.
Our freezes are short, but they catch people out. When one is coming, open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls and let a faucet run at a slow drip overnight.
If a pipe is already frozen, leave the faucet open and warm the pipe gently — a hair dryer, or towels soaked in hot water, working from the faucet end back toward the frozen section. Never use a hair dryer while you’re standing in water, and never use a blowtorch or any open flame on a pipe. If it has already split, water off at the main and call us.
Any hour, someone picks up. Not voicemail. They’ll take your details and book you into the next available appointment before you hang up, so it’s handled and you can put the phone down.
Most days, that’s usually the same day. Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday 6am to 4pm. We’ll tell you honestly where you sit in the day rather than promising a time we can’t hold.
Licensed, insured, and thirty years of experience behind the work. Hunter Plumbing has served Horry County since 2019, and our owner has been plumbing for more than thirty years. Licensed Master Plumber #M115226. The plumber who turns up works for us.
You’ll know the price before we start. We quote upfront. If we open something up and it needs more than we could see, we stop, re-quote, and you approve before we go any further. No surprises on the invoice.
We answer the phone 24 hours a day and will book you the next available appointment whenever you call. We don’t send a plumber out overnight — same-day service is usually available Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday 6am to 4pm. We’d rather tell you that plainly than have you waiting up for a truck.
Anything actively causing damage or making the house unsafe — a burst pipe, water you can’t stop, sewage coming back up, or the smell of gas. A slow drip or a running toilet can usually wait for a normal appointment, and we’ll say so rather than charging you for urgency you don’t need.
We quote before we start, so you’ll know the number before any work happens. Cost depends on what’s actually wrong and how hard it is to reach — a straightforward clear-out and a failed line under a slab are different jobs. If it turns out to need more than we could see at the start, we re-quote and you approve it first.
Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, Socastee, Little River, Garden City, Carolina Forest, Forestbrook, Longs, Red Hill and the rest of Horry County.
Standing in water right now? Call (843) 685-6840. Someone will answer.
