Do You Know Where Your Home's Water Shut Off Valve Is?

In the case you have a plumbing emergency, it is always a good idea to educate yourself on how and where to turn off your main home water supply. Attempting to do any work on plumbing while the water is still turned on can cause flooding in your home and could cost you thousands of dollars in water damage and repairs.

In the Winter time and when temperatures drop significantly, the water in your pipes can freeze. When water freezes, it expands and can then cause the pipe to burst. If bursting has already occurred, turn off your home's main water valve as fast as humanly possible to avoid even more issues.

If you are able to contain the situation as soon as possible, it will greatly help with flooding and allow a bigger window of time for a licensed plumber to arrive (if needed). Everyone in your household should know where the main home water shutoff valve is located and how to go about turning it off.

Also, if you are going to be away from your home for an extended period of time, we recommend that you turn off your home's main water valve.

Where Is the Main Water Shutoff Valve Located?

Your main water shutoff valve could be located numerous places in your home. If you own or rent a home that has a basement, it is probably located on an interior wall near the front of the home. Somewhere near by in which the water comes in from the water meter. In this case, it is most likely in plain sight. If your house is older and was built on a slab, the main water valve may be located near the hot water heater tank or in some cases, your garage.

If you do experience a leak in your home, here are some things you should know and do:

Locate where the water line enters the house. Here you should find a larger valve. This valve is either a gated-type valve or a ball-type valve. The gated valve looks like a small wheel as pictured above. Turning the wheel clockwise until it stops shuts off the water flow fully.

The ball type valve will be a lever of sorts. Pull or push this lever in the opposite direction of where it stands to shut off the main water completely.

For safety reasons, you should mark these valves and alert everyone in your household where the main shut off valve is by marking it as such in the case of an emergency. Make certain, that moving forward, everyone will know the where and how in order to avoid costly damage to your home.

If for some reason you cannot find the main valve in your home or are having trouble turning it on or off, please feel free to reach out to Suburban Plumbing Experts in Brookfield, Illinois.

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