Knowing where the main water valve is located can mean the difference between a minor problem and severe water damage to your home.

Water leaks are a common issue in homes and buildings.  Some types of water leaks happen slowly and some are big enough to cause considerable damage very quickly.  The building materials in your home quickly absorb water from leaks, leading to significant property damage or mold.  If you notice a water leak in your home, your priority is to stop the leak.  This is easy in minor cases involving a leaking sink or appliance.  For major leaks, you must find the water shut off valve.  The following tips will help you locate the emergency shut off valve to stop the water from leaking.

Locate the Source of the Water

The first thing you must do is find where the water leak is coming from.  Check common areas for water leaks such as sinks, bathrooms, washing machines, water heaters, and sprinkler systems.  If you cannot find the source of the water, there might be a burst pipe in your wall, floor, or ceiling.  You must locate the water shut off valve to stop this type of leak.

Find your Water Shut Off Valve

You must find your main shut off valve in a hurry if you have water leaking from an unknown source.  The shut off valve is in different areas of a home depending on the plumbing arrangement.  Consider the following when locating the main water shut off valve:

• Does your home have a sprinkler system? If it does, your home has separate shut off valves for the main water system and the sprinkler system.
• Whether your home has a basement, crawlspace, or slab foundation determines the location of the shut off valve.
• Some water shut off valves have round handles, some have levers.

Finding the right shut off valve if your home has:

• Basement: The main shut off valve is typically by the front foundation wall or within 3-5 feet of where the water enters the house in homes with basements.
• Crawlspace and Basement: If your home has a basement and a crawlspace, the main shut off valve could be in the crawl space.
• Crawlspace with No Basement: The shut off valve is usually by the water heater or beneath the kitchen sink in homes with a crawlspace and no basement. However, the shut off valve might be in the crawlspace in these homes.
• Slab Foundation: The water shut off valve is under the kitchen sink or near the water heater in homes with no basement or crawlspace.

Shut Off the Right Valve

The following will help you locate the right water valve to shut off in an emergency:

• • If your home has an indoor or outdoor main water meter and fire sprinklers, turn off the second valve above the main meter which should be downstream from the fire sprinkler system.

Identifying the right valve to shut off in an emergency is not as complicated as it may seem.

• If your home has an inside main water meter and no fire sprinklers, both shut off valves can cut the water to your home. If you aren’t sure if your home has a sprinkler system, shut off the second valve to be safe.
• If your home has an outside water meter and no fire sprinkler system, there is only one valve to shut off.

The main water shut off valve can have two types of handles, round wheel handles and levers.  Turn round handles clockwise 1-2 revolutions to shut off the water.  Give lever handles a ¼ turn, the handle should not go any farther.  Once you shut off the main valve, open all faucets to relieve pressure and drain down the home.  You should de-energize your water heater and boiler when down draining.

Turning on Main Water Valve

When you are ready to turn the water back on, follow these steps:

• Leave at least one faucet on the highest level of your home open to relieve pressure and close the rest.
• Turn on valves part way; ½ turn for wheel handles and half of the ¼ turn for level handles. Slowly turn off the top-level faucet once the water starts running.
• Open the main valve all the way once the water pressure equalizes. Slowly turn on each faucet in your home to bleed out the air and turn the faucet off once the air pockets stop.
• After the you have turned the water back on and bled out all the air from each faucet, turn on the power for your water heater and/ or boiler.

If you have a serious water leak in your home or building, you must quickly locate the shut off valve and turn off the water before sustaining severe damage.  It is very important to know where your main shut off valve is and how to turn it off in case of an emergency.  Water from leaks causes significant structural damage that requires the attention of water damage professionals.  Calling for water damage restoration services immediately after shutting off the water will help limit the damage.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.