Spoed Loodgieter Breeman: 24/7 Emergency Plumber

Emergency plumber for leaks and blockages, at any hour

There's never a good time for a leak or a blockage. It happens on a Saturday evening when you've got family over, or in the middle of the night when you're woken by dripping above your head. At a moment like that you don't want to be comparing lists of plumbers. You want to ring one number and know the problem will be sorted. That's what Spoed Loodgieter Breeman is for: a nationwide emergency service for plumbing problems and blocked drains, with one phone number for the whole of the Netherlands.

We're rated 4.9/5 based on 89 Google reviews. On this page you'll find out what happens when you call, which problems a plumber can help with, what it costs and what you can do yourself until the plumber arrives.

Someone on the phone who helps you work it out

When you call 085 115 0249, you speak to someone who knows how a soil stack or a trap works. You don't need any technical jargon to explain the problem. We ask follow-up questions until it's clear what's going on and what's needed: clearing a blockage quickly, leak detection, or shutting off and replacing a section of pipe.

Everything agreed before anyone sets off

Based on that conversation, we give you a price estimate. Only once you've agreed to it does a plumber come out to you, usually within the hour. On site, the plumber first establishes the cause and only then gets to work. Afterwards, they explain what was wrong and what you can do to stop it happening again.

What does a plumber actually do?

The name dates back to the days when craftsmen cast lead for water pipes and roofs. Today a plumber works mainly with copper and plastic, but the trade still comes down to two flows: clean water coming into your home and waste water going back out. If something goes wrong on either side, you usually notice straight away. We focus on the jobs that can't wait.

Everything that brings water in

From the water meter, the mains water pipe runs to the kitchen, the bathroom, the toilet, the washing machine and the central heating boiler. That pipe is under constant pressure, which is why a coupling that has worked loose or a pinhole in an old copper pipe keeps leaking while you're asleep or out at work. On the supply side, the plumber repairs pipes, replaces taps and makes sure the main stopcock shuts off properly again.

Everything that takes water away

Waste water leaves the house through traps, drains and pipes that join the soil stack or the underground drain, and eventually discharge into the sewer in the street. A drain isn't under pressure: the water simply runs downhill along the fall of the pipe. Grease, hair, too much toilet paper or something that's fallen in can block that flow. The job then is to clear the blockage and work out why it happened. For an overview of everything we do on both sides, see all our services.

Blockages: from toilet to sewer

A blockage is one of the most common reasons to call an emergency plumber. It might sit just below the toilet bowl, but it can also be metres further along, in a pipe under the floor or out in the garden. Where it is and what it's made of determine which tool the plumber reaches for: a drain snake, an electric drain machine or a high-pressure water jetter.

Blocked toilet: what now?

The first instinct is often to flush again, but if the bowl is already full, the water will simply spill over the rim. Give it a few minutes first and watch whether the level drops on its own and whether any other drains in the house are affected. If it's only the toilet that isn't working, the blockage is usually in the bowl or just behind it, and a few firm pushes with a plunger will sometimes clear it. If the level won't drop, or the toilet starts gurgling as soon as water goes down a drain elsewhere in the house, that points to a blockage further along the pipe. In that case, getting your toilet unblocked is the quickest way to a toilet that works properly again. If it's the only toilet in the house, that alone is reason enough to call an emergency plumber.

Unblocking the kitchen sink: grease and coffee grounds

In the kitchen, grease, coffee grounds and food scraps cause most of the trouble. Grease that goes down the plughole while it's still warm cools further along the pipe and builds up there, layer by layer. If you have your kitchen sink unblocked, you'll want the pipe beyond the trap cleaned as well, or the water will be standing in the sink again within a few weeks. If the dishwasher drains into the same waste pipe, the first sign of a blockage is often water rising into the sink as the dishwasher pumps out.

Shower and washbasin in the bathroom

In the bathroom, hair and soap residue combine into a stubborn blockage. When unblocking your shower drain, the plumber clears it out without damaging the drain or the tiling. In a washbasin, the muck usually collects in the trap or around the plug, where hair, toothpaste and shaving residue build up. If you clean that trap yourself, screw it back on straight and firmly, or a little water will drip into the cabinet underneath every time you use the basin.

Blocked drain or sewer?

If water comes up at the lowest point in your home, or the inspection chamber in the garden is full, the blockage is usually in the main drain. In that case, unblocking the sewer is the right approach. Afterwards, the plumber can use a drain camera to see whether the pipe is cracked or has sagged. If a drain is blocked at a point where several pipes meet, the washbasin, shower and kitchen sink will all drain slowly at the same time. That means the problem lies in a shared pipe, and unblocking the drain with a machine is the logical next step.

If the blockage lies beyond your property boundary, in the section under the pavement or the road, it's usually up to the municipality (gemeente) to deal with it. At the inspection chamber, the plumber can often see on which side the water is backing up, so you know whose responsibility it is.

Sewer smell without a blockage

Not every bad smell means there's a blockage in the pipe. A sewer smell in a house where every drain still runs freely often comes from a spot where water rarely flows: the drain in the guest bathroom, a floor drain in the garage, or the washing machine outlet after a long holiday. Over time the water in the trap evaporates, leaving an open path from the sewer into your home. In that case, a bucket of water down the drain is all it takes.

If you can smell it in several rooms at once, have a plumber check the vent pipe and the joints. If it stays in one spot and keeps coming back, the source is usually close by: a dirty trap, a rubber seal that has stopped doing its job, or a waste pipe leaking behind a bath or in the crawl space.

Leaks at home: turn the water off first, then find the source

With a leak, every minute counts. Water soaks into floors, walls and ceilings, and if you live in a flat, the neighbour downstairs may notice it before you do. That's why the first part of every leak job is about shutting off the water and limiting the damage. Only then does the search begin.

Ceiling leak: where is the water coming from?

A damp patch on the ceiling is rarely directly below the leak. Water runs some way along joists and pipes before it shows up anywhere. So pay attention to when the patch grows. If it gets bigger after someone has had a shower, a waste pipe or a sealant joint is the more likely culprit. If it grows even when nobody is using any water, a leak in the supply pipe is the more obvious suspect.

Bathroom leaks: sealant, grout and connections

A bathroom brings lots of water points together in one room: the shower, bath, washbasin, toilet and often the washing machine too. A sealant joint that has come away, grout that lets water through, or a toilet that isn't properly connected to the waste pipe only leaks while it's in use. That's why a leak like this can go unnoticed for a long time, until a water stain appears in the room below. The plumber tests each part in turn to establish whether the supply pipe, the waste or the tiling is to blame.

Leak detection in walls and floors

You can't see a leak in a pipe that runs inside a wall or under the floor screed. What you do notice is a water meter that keeps ticking over, plaster that feels soft or tiles that sound hollow. During leak detection, the plumber pinpoints the source with a moisture meter, a thermal imaging camera or a pressure test. That way, nothing gets opened up unless it really has to be. Leak detection can often find a leak in underfloor heating too, because the warm pipes show up on the camera image.

Water pipes and taps

Not every problem with your water pipes starts with a puddle on the floor. Sometimes you hear a pipe ticking, the water pressure drops, or a tap has been dripping for weeks. The sooner you deal with it, the smaller the job usually is.

Burst water pipe? Turn off the main stopcock first

A burst pipe after a frosty night, or a drill that went into the wall in exactly the wrong spot: both call for a fast water pipe repair. In most homes you'll find the main stopcock next to the water meter. Turn it off, then open a tap on the lowest floor to take the pressure off the pipe. Then call us straight away. The plumber replaces the damaged section and checks at the same time whether there are any more weak spots in that part of the pipework.

Dripping tap: repair or replace?

A tap that won't stop dripping, or a mixer tap that no longer shuts off properly, is less dramatic but can still prove costly over time. Repairing a leaking tap is mainly worth it if the tap is otherwise in good condition: a worn washer, an O-ring or a ceramic cartridge can be swapped in no time. If the tap is old, furred up with limescale or leaking around the base, replacing the tap is often the better choice. The plumber will explain which option makes most sense in your situation.

Sound familiar? When to call an emergency plumber

Most people who call us are dealing with one of these situations:

• The toilet almost overflows when you flush, even though nothing unusual has gone down it.
• Dirty water comes up through the shower drain whenever the upstairs neighbours' washing machine empties.
• A damp patch on the ceiling gets a little bigger after every shower.
• There's a sewer smell in the house that airing and cleaning won't get rid of.
• After a cold night, water is coming out of the storeroom wall or up from the crawl space.
• The kitchen tap won't turn off, even with the lever pushed all the way across.

If your problem isn't on the list, you can of course still call us. What the list mainly shows is that problems often start small. A drain that has been gurgling for weeks or a patch that is slowly spreading is usually quicker and cheaper to fix than the flood or water damage it can lead to later on.

Need a plumber right now? This is how an emergency call-out works

A leaking pipe, an overflowing toilet or water coming through the ceiling: you don't wait until there's a free slot in the diary next week. When you call Spoed Loodgieter Breeman, someone answers, at night too. After a short conversation you'll know what's probably going on, roughly what it will cost and when the plumber can be with you.

Need a plumber today?

If the problem needs immediate help, we don't book an appointment for later in the week. As soon as you agree to the price estimate, a plumber heads to your address as quickly as possible. He's usually with you within the hour, so even on a Sunday evening or a public holiday you'll normally have a plumber at your door the same day.

Every house has its own plumbing

How a problem develops varies from one home to the next. That's why the plumber who comes out to you starts by looking at the type of house and how old the plumbing is. Those two things decide where they look and which tools they bring.

Old town houses and pre-war homes

In a canal house in Amsterdam, the pipes run over several floors through cramped spaces. In other old town centres and pre-war neighbourhoods, the pipework has often been altered piecemeal over the years, leaving a mishmash of materials. Homes built before 1960 may still have lead water pipes. If you're renovating, have them replaced at the same time. Below ground, older neighbourhoods sometimes still have clay sewer pipes, whose joints are vulnerable to tree roots and subsidence.

Walk-up flats and apartment blocks

In a portiekflat, the typical Dutch walk-up block where the flats open onto a shared stairwell, homes stacked above one another often share a single soil stack. That's why a blockage tends to show up first in the ground-floor flat. Leaks, too, almost always affect more than one household in a block of flats. Shared pipes are usually the responsibility of the VvE (owners' association) or the landlord, so report the problem to them as well, and let the neighbours below you know if water is coming through.

New builds: everything hidden away

In a newer neighbourhood, the pipework is hidden behind tiles, in service ducts and in the floor. The waste pipes are plastic and usually drain perfectly well, but a leak in a pipe under the floor screed is invisible from the outside. That's exactly where it pays to take measurements before anything is opened up. A trap that wasn't tightened properly when the house was completed, or a sealant joint that comes loose after a few years, can also cause damp in a new house.

A plumber near you: what to look for

If you're looking for a plumber near you, what you mostly want is someone at your door quickly. Still, distance isn't the only thing that matters. With these points in mind, you can choose the right plumber even under time pressure.

Choosing a local plumbing company

• Always reachable. A good plumbing company also answers in the evening, at night and at the weekend, because that's often when things go wrong.
• Costs up front. Always ask about the price before the work starts. With us, simple jobs cost from €89; the call-out charge and, outside office hours, an out-of-hours rate come on top.
• One professional for leaks and blockages. A plumber who both repairs pipes and unblocks drains doesn't need to come back if the problem turns out to be different from what you thought.
• An explanation included. A good plumber tells you afterwards what caused the problem, so you know what to watch out for in future.

Local plumbers who also unblock drains

Many emergency calls aren't about a leak but about a drain that's blocked. Our local plumbers unblock toilets, kitchen sinks and shower drains, and use an electric drain machine or a high-pressure jetter for blockages further down the line. If the sewer is blocked, the plumber can unblock it through the inspection chamber in the garden or the rodding eye indoors. So we're a plumber and a drain unblocking service in one: a single phone call sorts out a leak or a blockage.

How much does a plumber cost?

With an emergency job, you want to know up front roughly what it's going to cost. That's why we give you a price estimate over the phone, before the plumber sets off. Below, we explain in plain English how we arrive at it.

Starting price and call-out charge

Simple jobs start from €89, for example a toilet or kitchen sink that can be cleared with standard equipment. The call-out charge isn't included in that starting price and is always added on top.

What does a plumber charge per hour?

If you search online for a plumber's hourly rate, you'll find that rates vary widely. But a figure like that tells you little about what you'll actually pay, because the length of the job, the time you call and the call-out charge all play a part. So rather than a bare hourly rate to do the maths with yourself, we give you a price estimate for your own situation.

Out-of-hours rate

After office hours, at weekends and on public holidays, we charge an out-of-hours rate. That's the price of having a skilled tradesperson ready to come out at any hour. If your problem can safely wait until the next working day, we'll be honest and tell you so, and leave the decision to you.

Ask for a quote for larger jobs

Not every job can be properly assessed over the phone. A hidden leak under a tiled floor, or a sewer pipe where a long section needs replacing, has to be investigated first. In that case you can ask for a quote. After the inspection you'll know what the work involves, and it's up to you whether it goes ahead.

24-hour plumber: help outside office hours

Water doesn't keep to opening hours. As a 24-hour plumber, we answer the phone even at three in the morning, on a Sunday morning or on Boxing Day. For us, being available 24 hours a day means you get the same approach whenever you call: first an assessment and a price estimate, then a plumber.

Need a plumber urgently, or can it wait?

Some problems really can't be left until Monday. A leak that won't stop or is getting close to electrics, sewage coming up into the shower or the kitchen, a burst pipe, or a house without a single working toilet: in any of those cases, call straight away. A gently dripping tap or a drain that's getting a bit slower can often wait until a quieter moment. If you're not sure, just give us a call. Together we'll work out over the phone whether it's an emergency or whether a normal appointment will do.

How to make the plumber's job easier

At night especially, a few small things can save a lot of time. Clear access to the meter cupboard, the kitchen cupboard or the crawl space hatch in advance, so the plumber can get at it straight away. Switch on the outside light and keep your phone handy in case they have trouble finding your house number. If you have pets, shut them in another room for the time being.

Emergency plumber, out-of-hours plumber or 24-hour plumber?

Online you'll come across several names for the same service. Whether you search for an out-of-hours plumber or an urgent plumber, it always comes down to a plumber you can call right now who will come as quickly as possible, outside office hours too. What matters more than the name is that someone answers when things go wrong.

Call straight away or have a go yourself?

It's only natural to want to have a go yourself first. Even so, plumbers regularly see a small problem turned into a big one by DIY attempts. Harsh drain cleaners containing caustic soda or acid rarely dissolve a blockage of hair or grease completely. They sit in the pipe, eat away at older pipes and rubber seals, and are dangerous for whoever has to open up the drain afterwards.

Where DIY goes wrong

Pushing a length of wire or a garden hose into the toilet often shoves the blockage further down the pipe, where it's harder to reach. And if you start undoing couplings during a leak without knowing where the main stopcock is, you can cause serious water damage in a matter of seconds. On top of that, water doesn't stay where you can see it. A leak you think you're catching with a bucket and a towel may be soaking into the floor in the meantime. The longer that goes on, the greater the risk of mould, loose tiles or damage to your neighbours' property. A plumber who gets there quickly can save you a lot of repair work.

What you can safely do yourself

If you have a leak, turn off the main stopcock and switch off the power if water is getting near sockets or appliances. With a blocked toilet, you can carefully try a plunger, but don't flush again while the water is high in the bowl. If it hasn't worked after a few attempts, stop and call us. You'll find more practical answers in our frequently asked questions.

Prevention is better than unblocking

Many emergency call-outs can be avoided with a few simple habits. That goes for blockages just as much as for leaks.

Keeping drains clear

Don't pour frying fat or oil down the sink. Let it cool in an old jar or bottle, then put it in the bin. Wet wipes, cotton buds and sanitary towels don't belong in the toilet, even if the packet says they're flushable. A simple hair catcher in the shower will save you a lot of bother.

Preventing leaks and frost damage

Turn the main stopcock off and on again every now and then, so it hasn't seized up when you need it. Insulate pipes in an unheated shed, garage or crawl space, and drain the outside tap before the frost sets in. To find out whether water is quietly leaking away somewhere, turn off all the taps and check whether the water meter has stopped. If it keeps turning, it's time to have the leak traced.

A plumber near you, wherever you live

Spoed Loodgieter Breeman is a plumbing company that works throughout the Netherlands, from the Randstad to Twente and from Brabant to Groningen. Whether you live in Rotterdam, in a village on the Veluwe or on a new-build estate in Flevoland, you call the same number and we work the same way. So if you're looking for a plumber near you, there's no need to find out first who covers your area. Our service area page lists a selection of cities, each with its own page about the homes and pipework we come across there. Outside those cities, our emergency plumber will come out to you just the same.

Got a leak or a blockage right now? Call 085 115 0249 and tell us what's going on. We'll make sure a skilled plumber is at your door as quickly as possible.