You must be somewhat of an appraiser and deal finder. It takes time to recruit your cosmetologists, but you will run across them in your travels. Friends and family usually trustworthy drain leak repair can provide you with some serious leads. Start networking and talking to tradesmen. Get their numbers and schedule them to descend upon your ugly duckling at certain times and watch the transformation begin.
It is important that they know these things so they can work on it the right way. This can also be an opportunity for you to get some other tips from them on how to handle these situations in case it happens again.
This around the clock availability leads to the second thing to look for in your rescue personnel. Are they available at all hours? Saying you are and actually local water heater repair service picking up the telephone are two different matters. Do they offer at least two numbers, one for regular business hours and one for after hours? That is what you are looking for. And if they advertise dispatch vans, all the better for speedy replies.
This is simple, just boil water on the stove, pour and run this hot water on your kitchen sink before you plunge. Do this repeatedly until you unclog the sink.
Last but not least is don't hire someone just because they gave you the lowest bid. Next don't hire some handyman that does odd faucet replace jobs, in some cases they can cause you more problems that down the road it will cost you more money to fix what these handyman broke or did wrong. Sometimes the lowest bid is going to cut corners and not do the job right or when they get there and start doing the work, they keep saying they are finding more and more wrong and you end up spending more than what you should have.
The first and most important thing to do any emergency is to CUT OFF THE WATER SUPPLY. Once this is done, you can take time to locate the problem and do something about it. Now, before you really have to, make a tour of the house and locate the water cut-off valves. Make sure everyone in the family is familiar with them.
The bottom line is: You and your plumber need to decide if you truly have an emergency plumbing problem. If the problem is serious and you really can't delay getting it fixed, then by all means have the work done as quickly as possible. It will probably be cheaper in the long run to delay repair on a plumbing problem that is "livable" for the time being. You will need to weigh your options and discuss them with your plumber after he has evaluated your unique situation.