Leaks Happen, Do You Know Where Your Shutoff Valves Are?

Leaks show up in a myriad of ways. From the dreaded loud bang in the middle of the night and water flowing from the ceiling, to a small circle of wet drywall on the ceiling you swore wasn’t there last week. Whether the leak is a total catastrophe or a minor inconvenience, as the homeowner, there are some easy steps to help mitigate the damage and stress.

First off, the most important step a homeowner can take is finding their water shutoffs before a leak occurs. Each home should be equipped with a handle on the incoming water pipe that shuts the water off to the whole house. This is usually found in the basement or crawlspace, or can also be located in the yard, usually in one of those green top plastic boxes. Knowing where this shut off is can save your home from further damage. Shutting the water off and then opening your lowest faucet in the home will drain all water out of your system within a few moments. In addition to the main shut off most homes also have a shutoff specifically for the hot water piping only. This is found on the piping coming into your water heater. Usually on the right side of the tank. This shutoff works well if you have a leak on the hot water side of your piping. You will be able to stop the leak, yet still have functioning toilets and cold drinking water.

There are a few other noteworthy shutoffs you should familiarize yourself with. Each plumbing fixture itself should have valves underneath the cabinet that control the hot and cold connections to that faucet. These come in handy if your faucet won’t turn off or develops an annoying drip. If you have a sprinkler system, there will be a separate valve for shutting the water off to it. If your home has gas appliances each will have its own shutoff within 6 feet of the appliance. Also, there is a main gas shutoff located outside your home where the piping enters you house.

Educating yourself where these shutoffs are can save serious damage if a problem were to arise. If you can’t find them or you find that your valves are seized up or dripping when turned give us a call. We can do a full plumbing inspection of your home. This includes cycling and marking your incoming valves with descriptive tags so they can be easily found and you can trust they will work. Some homeowners find a main water valve was never installed on the piping at all. If this is the case, we always carry multiple size valves on the plumbing trucks and can work with the city or county to have your water shut down while we install one the same day. As plumbers we frequently see the extra damaged caused by leaks that could have easily been shut off. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with your homes shut off valves.