No Water in the House on a Well — Here's What to Do
Five things to check in two minutes, plus what it usually means when each one is the culprit. Then call us if it is the pump.
If your house runs on a private well and you suddenly have no water at any tap, the cause is almost always one of five things: a tripped breaker, a failed pressure switch, a waterlogged pressure tank, a failed pump motor, or a well that has run dry. Each one has a quick check you can do safely from the basement or utility room. The steps below walk through them in order from cheapest to most expensive.
What our team handles on the call
- Diagnose the no-water cause on the phone for free
- Reset and replace tripped or burned breakers
- Replace failed pressure switches
- Re-charge or replace waterlogged pressure tanks
- Pull and replace failed submersible pumps
- Investigate well casing, drop pipe, and check valve issues
How a service call works
- 1Check the breaker
Find the breaker labeled WELL, WELL PUMP, or PUMP in your panel. If it is tripped, reset it once. If it trips again immediately, leave it off and call us — something downstream is shorting.
- 2Look at the pressure gauge
On the pressure tank you should see a gauge reading 0 to 100 psi. If it reads 0 with the breaker on, the pump is not running or the well is dry. If it reads normal but no water flows, the issue is downstream of the tank.
- 3Listen at the pressure switch
The pressure switch is the small gray box near the tank. With the breaker on you should hear a faint click if it is calling for the pump. No click usually means a failed switch or no voltage.
- 4Tap the pressure tank
Tap the side of the tank top to bottom. A waterlogged tank sounds the same the whole way. A healthy tank sounds hollow on top, solid on the bottom. A waterlogged tank short-cycles the pump and eventually kills it.
- 5Call us
If steps 1 through 4 do not restore water, call (336) 273-7314. We answer 24/7 and dispatch the same day across the Triad.
What does it cost?
Most no-water calls land between $400 and $1,800 once we are on site. The cheapest fix is usually a $250 to $450 pressure switch. The most expensive is a full submersible pump replacement at $1,500 to $3,500 depending on well depth.
- •Free phone diagnosis before we dispatch
- •Free written on-site estimate
- •Same-day fix for most common failures
- •No after-hours, weekend, or holiday upcharge
Every job gets a written, on-site estimate before any work begins. No surprise fees.
Where we work
We answer no-water calls everywhere across the Piedmont Triad. If your home is on a private well in central North Carolina, you are in our footprint.
Frequently asked
My breaker keeps tripping, can I just keep resetting it?
No. A breaker that trips immediately after being reset is telling you something is shorted, usually the pump motor, the wire down the well, or the pressure switch. Repeated resets can damage the pump and become a fire hazard. Leave it off and call us.
I have water but very low pressure, is that the same problem?
Not usually. Low pressure with water still flowing usually points to a pressure tank, pressure switch setting, or sediment issue. No water at all is more often a pump, breaker, or dry-well problem. Either way, we can diagnose on the phone.
How much does well pump repair cost?
Most residential well pump repairs in central NC fall between $400 and $1,800 depending on the failed part, well depth, and whether the pump has to come out of the well. A full submersible pump replacement (pump, wire, drop pipe, and labor) typically runs $1,500 to $3,500. Every job gets a written on-site estimate before any work begins. Call (336) 273-7314 for a free phone diagnosis.
Can you come out the same day?
Yes. No-water calls get same-day priority across the Piedmont Triad and our phone is answered 24/7. Most emergency calls are reached on-site within a couple of hours of the first call.
Could my well have just run dry?
It is possible in a long drought, but it is the least common cause on this list. Wells in the Triad usually have 50 to 200 feet of water column above the pump. Run-dry events almost always come with weeks of warning signs, sediment, brief outages, air spitting at faucets.
Do you warranty the work?
Yes. You get the full manufacturer warranty on the pump or tank plus our own labor warranty on the install. We answer the phone after the job is done.
More reading
Need help right now?
We answer the phone 24/7. Most calls are reached on-site within a couple of hours.
Call (336) 273-7314Or send a message and we will get back to you.