3 Ways to Turn Off Your Water Supply Quick and Easy

Table Of Content

• How to Thaw Frozen Pipes
• Q. What happens if I flush the toilet while the water valve is off?
• Q. What if my main water valve is stuck?
• The 11 Best Shower Faucets to Add Style and Function to Your Bathroom
• How to Keep Pipes From Freezing and Bursting
• Emergency Curb Stop Valve
• How to Turn Off Your Water Supply Quick and Easy

Turning off the water to the entire home will also stop the flow of water into the water heater. However, if you have a tank-style water heater, then the water inside the tank may still flow out of the water heater. Open a faucet on the lowest level of the home to drain any water remaining in the line. If the hot water continues to flow, locate the isolation valve above the water heater and turn it off to stop the flow of hot water. If the main shut-off valve is stuck or seized, you can attempt to loosen it with a set of channel locks or a pipe wrench. Just keep in mind that if you apply too much pressure to the valve, you can break the handle or the stem.

How to Thaw Frozen Pipes

If your valve is in one of these tight locations, you may need a professional plumber to relocate the valve or to install an easy-to-access secondary valve further down the line. The shutoff will either be a gate valve, which looks like a circular spigot, or a ball valve, which has a lever-style handle. This valve is located deep in the ground and can only be operated with a specific tool known as a curb key. If you have a curb key and are authorized to use the curb stop valve, lower the curb key into the curb stop shaft until it hits the valve at the bottom. Rotate the key until you feel it settle down onto the pin at the bottom of the curb stop shaft. In some cases, you need to rotate the curb key several times to shut off the flow of water, similar to closing a gate valve.

Q. What happens if I flush the toilet while the water valve is off?

Turn on a sink located in the lowest level of your home, so water in the pipes from the floors above drain all the way down. Make sure to open both the hot and cold taps and run them until they empty completely. At this point, you can start working on any plumbing projects that require the water to be shut down. Turning off the water shut-off valve or closing the emergency curb stop valve should shut off the water to the house.

Q. What if my main water valve is stuck?

Use these tips to locate the main water shut-off valve and stop the flow of water to your home. Turning off the water to the home is essential for many plumbing repairs and renovation tasks. Find out more about how to operate this valve with the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions below. In warm climates, it may be mounted on the exterior wall of the home or buried in the yard. After turning off the water to the house, you should open a faucet on the lowest level of the home to allow the water left in the pipes to drain.

To turn the water supply off, give a gate valve a few turns clockwise until you can’t turn it any further. In most cases, you won’t need any additional tools to turn off the main water shut-off valve. These valves are designed for simple manual hand turning, but if you are having trouble turning it or if the valve is completely seized, you may need to use a channel lock wrench or pipe wrench. The water main shut-off valve could be in a number of places, depending on the age of your home and the climate of your location.

How to Keep Pipes From Freezing and Bursting

In some cases, the valve may not function properly, so it’s essential to test the water before proceeding. Go to a sink in the lowest level of the home and fully open the cold water, allowing it to drain into the sink. If the water is off, the flow will slow down before coming to a complete stop. Turning off the water to the home when the shut-off valve is located inside the house is usually straightforward. The valve is often in the basement, close to where the main water line enters the home, although it may also be in a crawlspace or utility room. In the basement, the valve is typically positioned around eye level; in a main-floor utility area, it is installed closer to the floor.

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Closing and reopening them periodically will prevent them from getting stuck in place, and give you an opportunity to inspect them for corrosion or broken connections. Learning how to turn off the water to your house is important for emergencies and plumbing repairs. You would need to shut off the water to prevent floods indoors if the pipes break or plumbing fixtures overflow, for example. Shutting off the water supply in your home is usually necessary when you are making plumbing repairs to any of the fixtures or pipes in your home's plumbing system. After you locate the main shut-off valve or the curb stop valve, inspect the condition of the plumbing before proceeding.

Emergency Curb Stop Valve

In some cases, it’s more effective to turn off the water to a single faucet or plumbing fixture instead of shutting down the water to the entire home. Not only does this take less time because you don’t need to drain the water from the whole house, but it also allows you to continue using the plumbing in the rest of the home. The main water shut-off valve, also known as the building control valve, is typically located in one of several common areas. However, emergencies aren’t the only time a homeowner might need to turn off the water. When an old valve needs to be replaced, a faucet leaks, or a toilet needs to be removed, the water must be turned off to avoid flooding the immediate vicinity. Use this guide to learn where to find the main shut-off valve and how to turn off the water in your house.

How to Turn Off Your Water Supply Quick and Easy

It’s not every day a homeowner needs to turn off the water to the house using the main water control valve. Some homeowners might not know its location, which can be a big problem if there is a leak, the water lines freeze, or a pipe bursts. Homeowners need to know how to locate and operate the main shut-off valve so they can quickly turn off the water in an emergency. If a plumbing fitting starts to leak or a pipe ruptures, it can result in extensive water damage, costly water damage restoration repairs, and ongoing issues with mold and mildew growth.

After closing off the main shutoff valve, turn on a faucet in your home located on a lower floor, such as in a basement or even outdoors. Doing this allows any standing water to drain out of the plumbing system before you begin working on the pipes. This valve will always be located on the same side of the house as the water meter and it is usually a rather large valve that may need some elbow grease to operate. Rotate the circular handle on a gate valve clockwise until the valve cannot turn any further to turn off the water to your house. Use adjustable pliers or a pipe wrench to gently encourage the valve to rotate, but don’t apply so much pressure that you break the handle or the valve stem. Rotate the circular handle on a gate valve clockwise until it cannot turn any further to turn off the water to the house.

If the valve is in poor shape, have a professional plumber replace it instead of relying on rusted, worn, or potentially leaking fixtures. If the plumbing looks to be in good condition, proceed with operating the valve. The main water shut-off valve is usually located on the main water line, where it enters the home. In most cases, this will be in a basement, cellar, or crawl space because the water line extends from the neighborhood water main and enters the home from under the ground. In warmer areas where freezing pipes aren’t a concern, the main water shutoff might also be found outdoors on an exterior wall, or buried near the street. Water can be shut off to the home at the main valve where the municipal water supply comes into the house.

If you run into this problem, turn off the isolation valve at the top of the water heater to stop the flow of hot water. For a ball valve, turn the lever 90 degrees so it sits perpendicular to the water line. This rotates the ball inside the body of the valve, blocking the flow of water and shutting off the water to the house.

This valve may be installed on the exterior of your home in the front or back or indoors in the basement, for example. Water can also be shut off by the municipality at the home's water meter, which could be on or off your property. But it helps to know where the main valve is located so you can turn off the water yourself. Read on for more information about where and how to shut off your home's water supply.