Knowing The Signs of Plumbing TroubleKnowing The Signs of Plumbing Trouble

When a disaster occurs that is related to your home's plumbing, the very first thing you'll need to do is turn off your water so that water damage doesn't occur. Your home has several valves that allow you to shut off the water completely, shut off water to specific parts of your home, or shut off water flowing to a specific fixture. It's important to understand how to shut off the water in any situation.

Outdoor Shutoff

There should be a valve outside of your home that will turn off the water to your entire house. Unfortunately, the place where the valve is located is different for every home.

Start by looking near where your home's water meter is. That's because if the water meter is near the back of your house, chances are that the shutoff valve won't be located in the front yard. There should be a metal box in the ground that is fairly small. Open the box and you'll see a handle. Turn it so that the handle is at a 90 degree angle. If it's a circular valve, turn it clockwise until it is completely tight. If you cannot find an outdoor box, the shutoff could be in your home.

Knowing where this shutoff is located will be beneficial if you have a flood in your basement and you are worried about possible electrocution because water is touching electrical outlets.

Indoor Shutoff

Locate your home's water meter, because the valve is typically located on the pipe prior to the water reaching the meter. Turning this valve clockwise or 90 degrees will shut off all of the water in your home.

Your house may have shutoff valves going to specific parts of your home, which are accessible through the basement or access panels located in the wall. It's a good idea to locate these for situations where a pipe bursts inside your wall. You can shut off water to that specific zone, without cutting off the water to the rest of the house.

Individual Fixture Shutoffs

Your sinks and toilets should have individual shutoffs where the water line is coming out from the wall. Both the hot and cold water will have their own individual shutoff.

You'll need to use this shutoff if you see your toilet is about to overflow and want to prevent water from entering the bowl, or if you want to replace a fixture without affecting the rest of the home's water.

If you do have a problem that requires the help of a plumber, you'll be able to shut off the water quickly until a local plumber can get to your home to fix it. To find out more, speak with someone like Absolute Plumbing & Drain Cleaning Services Inc.