What to Turn Off Your Main Water Valve: Easy Guide
What to Turn Off Your Main Water Valve: Easy Guide
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One of the most common places a water main will be found in house is in your boiler room, basement, or an eliminated panel in an area for your house.
When you locate the water pipe you will merely transform the shutoff clockwise to close all the water off in your house till you have actually ended up the fixing. Some residences will certainly have a ball valve with a lever that you can pull rather than count on close the water off.
If you try to shut the water off to your fixtures by using an angle stop and that does not work you will have to shut of the water main to make your repair. There are likewise numerous various other factors you may need to shut the water pipe like fixing icy pipelines, repairing leaks, replacing components or taps.
Many people are not mindful that they also have a water pipe valve right in their own house and also simply call a plumber of never wind up doing the repair until things get really bad due to the fact that they merely do not know that closing the water main is really easy.
How to Find Your Home's Main Water Shut Off Valve
Find the Water Shut Off Valve on the Inside Perimeter
Search for your house's main water shut off valve on the inside of the home. Typically, it will be located on the perimeter of the house, since that is where the water first enters your house.
Also, stay on the side of the house that is facing the street. Your water main begins at the street and usually heads in a straight line to your home. When you find the valve, turn the handle or knife-style valve.
Note: This is only typical if connected to a municipal water supply. If you are using well water the water can enter the house in the back or from the side.
Find the Shut Off Valve on Your Property Inspection Report
If you still cannot find the water shut off valve after physically searching for it, one alternative is to check the property inspection report that was completed for you when you were in the final phases of purchasing your home.
Look in the plumbing section of the report. This section should locate the shut-off valve and have a photo of the valve. Even if the water system was not defective at the time of the property inspection report, the report should still note the locate the shut-off valve as a matter of course.
Find the Streetside Shut Off Valve
If the previous methods fail, there could be another valve located at the beginning of your water main, at the boundary line of your property and the street or sidewalk, called a curb valve.
Find the ground-level metal or plastic utility box trap door located at ground level. Call the water company's 24-hour emergency contact line. Staff may direct you to shut off the water valve by yourself or to wait for an emergency dispatch team.
How to Turn Off the Shut Off Valve
Ball Valve
A ball valve is a straight handle that runs parallel to the pipe when it is open. To turn off a ball valve, the handle will move from a parallel position to a perpendicular position. The valve body has stops that only allow the handle to move from one direction to another and will stop the handle when it is fully perpendicular.
Gate Valve
Similar to a hose faucet, this round handle must be turned several times clockwise until the gate seats to fully shut off the water.
Shut Off Water in Your House
If you have a water leak or just need to turn off the water in your home for remodeling or repairs, you must turn off your water upstream at some point. In all homes, you can shut off the water at the main water cut off valve. This turns off water to the entire house, even outside spigots. Luckily, many newer homes implement a number of upstream shut off valves that you can use, short of shutting off water to the entire house.
Tips for Locating the Water Shut Off Valve Within the House
Shutting off the water at the cut off valve located within the house is the best option for leaks that cannot be shut off by local valves. It will cut off your home's entire water supply, allowing you to open up any pipe within the house. The property inspection report is always the best way to locate the shut off valve. Failing that, use your detective skills to narrow down the location of the valve.
In most cases, the shut off valve will be near the perimeter of the house. Keep your focus on-grade. So, if you are in a basement, you will be looking at eye level or above. If you are on a ground-level floor, you will be looking down. Track a line from the water meter to the house. Go outside and stand on top of the water meter utility box. Imagine a straight line extending from that point to the nearest point on your home's exterior perimeter. Water lines will take the shortest path to reach a house. Where that line meets your house is likely where the house's shut-off is located. Sometimes the shut-off valve will be located behind a plastic access panel. A PEX plumbing manifold is a type of plumbing collection point that is increasingly being installed in newer homes. With a manifold, two large PEX pipes, one hot and one cold, are branched off to various parts of the house. Plumbing manifolds have shut off valves that can shut down water to the entire house. https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-find-main-water-shutoff-valve-1822492
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