A plumbing emergency in Wyncote gets the same first answer as anywhere else. Our dispatch is available around the clock, every day, including holidays. Shut off the main water valve, keep power away from standing water, and call (215) 714-6692.
We are an Abington company, and we say so plainly. Wyncote is part of Cheltenham Township, not Abington Township, so we cover it from next door as part of serving Abington and nearby towns. The rules and offices that apply to your house are Cheltenham's, and we point you to them below.
Cheltenham Township sets the rules here, not Abington
Whose rules apply at a Wyncote address
Wyncote is a Census-designated place inside Cheltenham Township and has no council of its own. Permits for plumbing work go through Cheltenham's Building and Codes office at 8230 Old York Road in Elkins Park, main number 215-887-1000. Abington Township's ordinances, including its sump pump piping rule, do not automatically follow us over the line, so ask Cheltenham before you assume a repair needs or skips a permit.
Before we arrive at your Wyncote house
Most of the damage in a plumbing emergency happens in the first half hour. These five moves limit it while the plumber is on the way.
Close the main
Turn the main valve clockwise until it stops. In many older houses it sits on the front basement wall, and if it will not budge, tell the dispatcher.
Kill power near water
If water is reaching an outlet, a panel or a basement sump cord, stay out of it. Switch off the breaker only from a dry spot.
Clear the area
Carry boxes, rugs and electronics upstairs. Basement storage in a creek-side house is the first thing lost.
Keep the drains alone
If a floor drain is bubbling or a toilet is backing up, stop running water and stop flushing. Pouring in chemicals makes the plumber's job harder.
Call and describe it
Give the street, the cross street and where the water is coming from. A clear description lets the right tools go on the truck.
Water in a Wyncote basement right now?
Close the main, move what you can, then call. A dispatcher answers at any hour.
What Wyncote homes tend to call us about
Basement water after heavy rain
Some low blocks near Tookany Creek take on water, and a failed sump pump or a backed-up floor drain is the usual plumbing piece of that.
Old supply pipe that splits
Houses from the early 1900s often still have galvanized steel or early copper somewhere, and those are the lines that fail without warning.
Slow drains that turn into backups
Older cast iron and clay branch lines collect scale and roots, and a main line clog shows up first in the lowest drain.
Hidden leaks in thick walls
Plaster and stucco hide a slow leak for weeks. A rising water bill with nothing visibly wet is the clue.
Water heaters past their prime
A tank in a damp basement corner can rust through at the base. Water around it means shut the supply and call.
Why 1951 matters when a pipe lets go
The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates put the median home in Wyncote at 1951 construction. Of about 1,229 housing units, 464 date from 1939 or earlier, and roughly 80 percent were built before 1960. A house from that period may carry galvanized supply pipe, cast iron drains and original shutoff valves, so a repair on one section deserves a look at the age of the pipe beside it.
That is also why we ask about the material before quoting. A patch on corroded galvanized pipe can leave the next joint to fail a few months later, and you are better off hearing that before the work than after. If several fixtures show weak flow or rusty water, a repiping assessment is worth discussing once the emergency is over.
Three Wyncote places where plumbing questions come up
These are named only because the public record says something useful about the plumbing there. Your own street may differ.
Greenwood Avenue and the historic district
The National Register lists the Wyncote Historic District roughly between Glenview Avenue, the SEPTA line, Webster Avenue and Church Road, with Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Tudor homes. Whether exterior plumbing work there needs township review is not something we could confirm, so ask Cheltenham before moving a vent or a hose bib on a street-facing wall.
Rices Mill Road
The Montgomery County hazard mitigation plan says homes on Rices Mill and Bickley Roads flood, and Cheltenham bought out one flooded home at 110 Rice's Mill Road. If you live on this stretch, ask about a battery backup for the sump pump and a backwater valve on the sewer line.
Keswick Avenue area
The same county plan says homes in the 100 to 300 block of Keswick Avenue report flooding, in what it calls the Glenside and Wyncote area. If a Keswick address is yours, treat basement drains and floor drains as the likely weak points and keep valuables off the slab.
Matching the problem to the repair in a Wyncote house
Here is how we usually sort the common calls, from most urgent down.
| What you see | Likely cause | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Water in the basement after rain | Failed or overwhelmed sump pump, or groundwater | Sump pump repair |
| Toilet or floor drain backing up | Blocked branch or main line | Drain cleaning and sewer line repair |
| Meter turning with every tap closed | Hidden leak in a wall, slab or buried line | Leak detection |
| Water sprayed from a wall or ceiling | Split supply pipe | Burst pipe repair |
| Flooded cellar from groundwater seepage | Drainage and grading, with plumbing as one piece | Basement waterproofing |
These are patterns, not diagnoses. The plumber confirms the cause on site before any work begins.
Sewer backups: Aqua runs the Cheltenham system
Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater acquired Cheltenham Township's sewer system in December 2019, according to Jenkintown Borough, and has operated it since. Aqua's tariff defines the customer service lateral as the connecting pipe the customer owns. That means a clog between your house and the main in the street can be your repair, and a clog in the main belongs to Aqua.
If a backup hits, call us and also ring the customer line printed on your Aqua bill, which Aqua lists as 877-987-2782. We can clear your house lines and camera the lateral, and the camera picture shows which side of the connection the blockage sits on. Ask Aqua or the township how they want reports handled if the problem is the main.
What shapes a Wyncote repair quote
You get a clear price before work starts, and the plumber explains each line of it. The factors below move the number most in older Wyncote houses.
Many homeowner policies cover sudden water damage but not gradual seepage or flooding from outside, so photograph everything and ask your insurer early. Ready for your real number? Call (215) 714-6692.
Call for your priceNeighbors we reach the same way
Wyncote shares borders and creek valleys with several towns we also serve. Callers in Elkins Park deal with the same Tookany Creek flood geography and the same Cheltenham permit office. Jenkintown and Glenside are close enough that the same dispatcher covers all three, so mention which one you are nearest when you call.
Who supplies your water, and what to check
Water supply questions
We could not confirm from a public source which Aqua system supplies each Wyncote block, so check your bill or ask Aqua. If you suspect a buried water line leak, our water service line page explains who owns which stretch under Aqua's published guidance. Your water hardness is also unconfirmed, so test your tap before you buy a softener.
Reaching Wyncote from our Abington base
We dispatch from 1150 Old York Rd in Abington, and Wyncote lies to the south and west of that corridor. Give the dispatcher your street and the nearest cross street, since several Wyncote roads run along the SEPTA line and the creek.
Greenwood Avenue, Church Road and Rices Mill Road are the roads most callers use as reference points. If the main road to your block is closed by water, say so on the call so the plumber can pick another route.
Wyncote plumbing questions
Yes, we cover the whole Wyncote area. Zip-code listings show 19095 as the only ZIP for Wyncote, which is why it leads this page and the title. 19027 is the Elkins Park ZIP, and Elkins Park is Wyncote's neighbor in Cheltenham Township, so some addresses along that line may carry it.
19046 is the Jenkintown ZIP. The SEPTA station at 50 Greenwood Av is named Jenkintown-Wyncote, which shows how the two areas meet there. If your mail uses a different ZIP, give the dispatcher your street and cross street.
Yes. Our dispatch line is open 24 hours a day, every day, including holidays, and a plumber can be sent to Wyncote from our Abington base. We do not promise an arrival time, but we tell you on the call whether same-day service is available.
Abington Township says sump pumps must be piped out of the house and never connected to the sanitary sewer. Wyncote falls under Cheltenham Township, so ask Cheltenham which rules cover your discharge pipe. Keeping sump water out of the sewer is a sensible habit anywhere, since it overloads the system.
Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater operates the Cheltenham Township sewer system and has since the 2019 purchase. The pipe from your house to the main is generally the customer's under Aqua's tariff. Call us for the house side and call Aqua if the main is blocked.
We could not confirm any plumbing-specific review rule for the district. Ask Cheltenham Township's Building and Codes office before changing anything visible from the street, such as a vent or an exterior valve. Interior repairs are usually less sensitive, but the township gives the final answer.
Partly. The county hazard plan names Tookany Creek as the main floodplain in the Glenside and Wyncote area. A sump pump, check valve or backwater valve can limit what comes in through drains, but water entering through walls is a drainage question, so ask about the basement waterproofing options.