If you’re facing serious plumbing problems, every minute makes a big difference before you can get a 24 hour emergency plumbing service expert sent to your home. Don’t let the problem get out of control – call us immediately and let us take the stress off your mind with our 24 hour emergency plumbing service.
No matter what your plumbing emergency is, we can get it fixed – bathroom and kitchen clogs, overflowing toilets, broken water heaters, sewer line stoppages and broken washing machine hoses are just some of the many common problems we regularly resolve for our customers.
Once you call us, a trained expert will quickly be sent to your home, but while you wait we’ve prepared some important steps you can take to help stop your plumbing emergency from getting out of control. We recommend you print this page out and put it on your fridge, as well as share this page with your friends so they can be prepared in the event of a plumbing emergency.
How to Turn off Water at the Main Water Shut-Off
You can prevent a lot of further damage by turning off the water supply for your house. Everyone in your household should learn how to use the main water shut-off, since plumbing emergencies can happen at any time.
The main valve for your house should be located near the water meter in your basement or crawl space, or it can also sometimes be located outside your home behind a small trap door. Older houses usually have a round wheel called a gate valve, while newer homes and replacement installations have a straight handle called a ball valve.
If your house has a round wheel valve, rotate it clockwise until the water stops. For straight handle valves, turn the valve a quarter turn clockwise. For both valves, turning counterclockwise will turn the water back on.
Here’s a video example you can watch for a visual example of how to find and turn off the main water service to your home:
We strongly recommend you label your valve clearly as the “main water shutoff valve” so that it’s easy for anyone to identify and use in an emergency.
How to Shut Off Your Hot Water Tank If you’re facing a leaking water heater or have a hot water leak somewhere in your home, you can typically find the water heater in the utility room of your basement, or in the laundry room for homes without a basement.
Once you’ve found the hot water tank, take note of the two pipes coming out of the top of the unit. There should be a shutoff valve on one or both of those pipes. For round gate valves, turn the handle clockwise to the right until the water stops. For ball lever valves, rotate the handle until it is crosswise on the pipe, which is usually a natural stopping point for these types of valves.
Here’s a nice video that discusses the water heater valves and main water shutoff valve:
If you’re currently experiencing a plumbing emergency, we hope these tips can help you proactively stop the damage until we can arrive to fix the root of the problem. Of course, the first step in any plumbing emergency should be to give us a call to get us on the road, but be sure to print out these tips and keep them in a handy place for any future emergencies.
Also, help us keep your friends prepared for plumbing emergencies by sharing this page with them via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, or any other means – they may really be grateful for it when it helps them in the future!