Inman is an easy run up I-26 or US-176 from Spartanburg, and our phone is answered by a person around the clock. When a pipe lets go at midnight or the toilets start backing up on a Sunday, you talk to someone who can tell you what to shut off and what to expect next.
The houses around Inman cover more than a century. There are early 1900s homes in the old downtown and around Inman Mills, mid-century brick ranches on the roads leading out of town, and newer subdivisions along the I-26 corridor and out toward Lake Bowen. Each of those ages fails in its own way, and knowing which one you live in tells us a lot before we arrive.
Inman also splits its utilities among three providers, so part of any emergency call is working out whose problem it is. We sort that out with you on the phone.
Three utilities, three phone numbers
Water in and around Inman comes from the Inman-Campobello Water District. If water is bubbling up at the meter box or in the road, that is the district's line, and their crew handles it. If the leak is anywhere between the meter and your house, it is private, and that is a call for us.
Sewer inside the city is the City of Inman's wastewater department, a separate office from the water district. If a manhole in the street is overflowing, call the city. If sewage is coming up in your tub or floor drain and the neighbors are fine, the blockage is almost always in your own building drain or yard line.
Natural gas is Piedmont Natural Gas. For a gas smell, leave the house first, then call Piedmont at 800-752-7504 or 911 from outside. Homes out toward Campobello on propane call their propane supplier.
Mill-era houses and old drains
In the older houses near downtown and the mill, the drain under the floor is often still cast iron, and the yard line may be clay tile or the black fiber pipe called Orangeburg. Cast iron rusts through along the bottom of the pipe, and old tile lines let roots in at every joint.
A backup in one of these houses tends to arrive after a heavy rain or a holiday full of guests. If every fixture on the lowest floor is backing up, stop running water anywhere in the house until the line is cleared, because each flush pushes more sewage out of the lowest drain.
Septic out toward Lake Bowen
City sewer does not reach every Inman address. Many homes on the county roads and some lots around Lake Bowen run on a septic tank, and the right first call depends on which you have.
With septic, a slow-down that spreads to every drain over a day or two usually points to the tank or the drain field, and a septic pumper is the right first call. A sudden stoppage at one toilet or one bathroom is more often a clog in the house drain, which we clear.
Newer homes along the I-26 corridor
The subdivisions built on Inman's outskirts over the last few decades rarely have rusted pipe. Their emergencies come from the parts that wear: a braided supply line under a vanity that bursts, a washer hose that splits, a PEX fitting that slowly works loose, or a water heater in the garage or attic that rusts through at the seam.
Each of those has a nearby valve. Learn where the fixture stops, the washer box valves and the cold valve above the heater are, and a burst at 3am becomes a towel job instead of a flooring job.
What to do in the first few minutes
Most water damage happens before anyone reaches the house, so these steps matter more than how fast a truck can get there.
- Find the main shutoff: in older crawlspace houses it is usually just inside the foundation wall on the street side, and the meter box has a valve too
- Turn off the water heater's gas or breaker if the main will be off for long
- Open a faucet on the lowest floor to drain the pressure out of the lines
- Shut off power to any room where water is reaching outlets or light fixtures
- Take photos for your insurer before you start mopping
In Inman specifically
Meter box valve
If you cannot find or turn the main inside the house, the Inman-Campobello Water District meter box has a curb valve. It often needs a meter key, which is worth buying before you need it.
City or county inside the same ZIP code
An Inman mailing address does not mean Inman city limits. If an emergency becomes a repipe or a water heater replacement, the permit comes from the City of Inman through SAFEbuilt inside the limits, or from Spartanburg County Building Codes outside them.
Freeze nights
A few hard freezes most winters are enough to split supply lines near crawlspace vents and hose bibs left with a hose attached. When a frozen pipe thaws and starts spraying, the main shutoff is the first move.
How an emergency call works
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You call, a person answers
Day or night, someone walks you through shutting off the water, gas or power while a plumber gets on the way.
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Stop the damage
The first job on site is to stop the water and make the house safe. A full repair sometimes waits for parts or daylight.
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Find the cause
A split pipe, a failed supply line, a blocked main or a rusted-out tank. Knowing why keeps it from happening again.
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Explain, then repair
We tell you what we found and the options before any repair beyond the emergency fix. Then we repair, restore the water and check for leaks.
The full guide to emergency plumbing, and everything else about plumbing and gas in Inman.