TURN OFF THE WATER TO YOUR HOUSE
There are two valves that will turn off the water to your house. In the case of a plumbing emergency, you should not only know where these valves are but how to close them. Unfortunately, many homeowners not only don’t know where to turn off the water in a plumbing emergency, once I explain to them where to look and they find it, I then have to walk them through how to turn it off.
By reading this blog tutorial, you’ll be prepared if disaster strikes and you have to quickly turn off the water to your house.
Turning off the water in the street:
1. Locate the meter.
Most homes have a water meter out near the street. It is in a box at ground level. Lift the lid off the box and you should see something like this:
2. Buy a meter key.
You can find it at any hardware store. You’ll need this to turn the valve (the slotted bar to the right in the photo. Practice turning the valve on and off a couple of times. Now you’re set. That’s the first place to turn off the water to your home in case of a plumbing emergency.
Turning off the water at the line where it enters your house:
The second place to turn off your home’s water is just where the water line enters your house. It can be in one of two different places. If your home has a crawl space, you’ll have to crawl under there and find it. It will look similar to this:
It’s the thing with the red handle. Turn it 1/4 turn to close.
If you have a basement, your water shut off valve may be similar to this:
It could be a round handle like this or a lever-type like the previous photo. Either way, find this valve and know how to open and close it. It could mean the difference between a minor plumbing inconvenience and a major plumbing disaster. If you need help locating these valves and live in the northwest Atlanta area, call us a Plumb Smart, Inc. and we’ll help.
Now go find those valves. Happy hunting!
Schedule a Plumber
Schedule a plumber if you need assistance, we are happy to help.
Read our reviews to learn more about us or our services.