Plumbing in Cleveland meets a long freeze in houses full of older pipe. Galvanized supply lines narrow and then pinhole when a thaw finally moves them. Cast iron drains crack or rust at the hub. A kitchen sink on an outside wall goes silent in a squall and leaks when the ice releases. Hose bibs split if they stayed charged through a lake cold that does not flirt with thaw every afternoon. Know the main shutoff, because those old valves seize.
Basement floor drains and sump pumps take the melt the clay will not move when a big pile lets go all at once. That surge is not a ceiling leak. A cable can clear a clog and leave a broken pipe, so say which result you need. Stacks in doubles mean a backup can show up in more than one unit. A laundry tub or a bath below the main drain changes the job. Say if water is still rising while you call.
Heaters in these cellars share the room with a laundry tub and a flue that wanders into a chimney the freeze has been working on. A tank that sweats all winter is not the same failure as one that simply dies before breakfast. If someone proposes tankless gear, the corner may not have the vent or the gas for it. Say whether hot water remains, whether the pan is emptying into a floor drain, and whether the flue metal is rusted at the masonry.
If a claim may follow a burst, shut the valve and photograph before anyone opens plaster to satisfy curiosity. A faucet stays a smaller job until the stop will not close. Galvanized that sprays when touched should be shut off, not twisted. A slow drip here does not remain a drip through a lake freeze. These houses are on city water unless you say otherwise. A frozen pipe in a wall is the call, not a speech about the whole system.
Say burst, clog, water heater, or backup, and say if you can shut the water off. Mention a split hose bib. Say if the stack serves a double. Call the number on this page.