How to Shut Off the Water to Your House

Where the Main Valve Usually Is

Every house is a little different, but the main valve follows the water pipe. That pipe starts at the water meter, which sits in a small box in the ground, usually near the street. From there it runs pretty much straight to the house. Stand at the meter, picture that line, and look where it meets the house. The valve is usually close by.

Homes on a crawl space. Plenty of older Valdosta houses sit up on piers, like many older houses on the Southside. Look under the house near where the pipe comes up out of the ground, or outside on the foundation wall that faces the street.

Homes on a slab. With no crawl space, check the garage, the laundry room, a utility closet and the wall near the water heater. Look outside by the front hose spigot too. Pipes rarely freeze here, so in a lot of homes the valve sits outdoors.

Mobile and manufactured homes. The valve is usually under the home, close to where the water line comes in. You may need to pop off a skirting panel to reach it.

When the pipe runs into a finished room. Look for a small panel on the wall or the ceiling nearby. The valve may be tucked behind it.

One thing trips a lot of people up. The valve on the pipe right above the water heater usually shuts off only the heater, not the whole house.

Two Kinds of Valves, and How to Close Each

A round wheel handle. Older homes often have this kind, called a gate valve. It looks a lot like the handle on a garden spigot. Turn it to the right, and keep turning until it stops. That can take several turns. If it feels stuck, don't hang your weight on it or hit it with anything. Old valves can snap, and then the leak gets worse.

A lever handle. Newer homes usually have a lever, called a ball valve. When the lever lines up with the pipe, water is flowing. Give it a quarter turn until it points across the pipe, and the water stops. It's one quick move.

Not sure which way to go? Righty tighty works for both. Turn to the right to close.

If You Can't Find It, or It Won't Turn

In Valdosta, the City takes care of the pipes up to your water meter, and everything after the meter belongs to the owner. The meter has a valve of its own, but it's the City's equipment. If a broken pipe is flooding your home and you can't stop it, the City says you can ask them to shut the water off at the meter. Contact City of Valdosta Utilities and say it's an emergency.

Leave the meter box alone otherwise. If the meter itself is leaking, that's the City's to fix.

• On a private water company. Some homes around Valdosta get water from a small water company or a community well instead of the City. Call them the same way.
• On your own well. There's no meter. Switch off the breaker for the well pump, then close the valve near the pressure tank, the big tank the well water fills first.

A valve that's frozen in place is worth fixing before the next leak. A plumber can swap an old wheel valve for a lever that turns with one hand, usually as part of work on the water line from the meter to the house.

Turn Off Just One Fixture Instead

For a leak at one sink or toilet, you don't need to shut off the whole house. Most fixtures have their own small valve.

• Under each sink, there are two small valves, one for hot and one for cold. The ones under the kitchen sink often feed the dishwasher too.
• Behind or beside each toilet, near the floor.
• On the cold pipe going into the water heater.
• Behind the washing machine, either two valves or one lever.
• For the fridge's ice maker, a small valve under the sink or behind the fridge.

Showers and tubs usually don't have a valve of their own. Georgia's plumbing code doesn't require one for them in houses, so a shower leak usually means using the main.

Turn these small valves to the right until they feel snug. Don't crank on them. Old ones sometimes start to drip at the handle once they move.

Right After the Water Is Off

• Open a faucet at the lowest spot in the house, like a bathtub. That lets the pipes drain and takes the pressure off the leak.
• An electric water heater can burn out its heating parts if the tank empties with the power on. If the leak is at the heater, or the water will be off for a while, switch off its breaker. For gas, turn the knob to Pilot.
• Mop up what you can, and keep everyone away from water near outlets or cords.

If water is still coming in, or it's anywhere near electrical outlets, don't wait it out. That's a job for a 24/7 emergency plumber.

Turning the Water Back On

• Open the main valve slowly, a little at a time. Opening it all at once can make the pipes bang. Open it all the way when you're done, since a main left partly closed is a common cause of weak water pressure.
• Run a few faucets, starting with cold. Sputtering and spitting are just air leaving the pipes. Let them run until the water flows smooth.
• Check under the sinks and around the repair for drips.
• Turn the water heater back on last, once hot water runs steady from a faucet. That tells you the tank is full again.

Find It Before You Need It

The worst time to look for your main valve is with water spraying across the floor. Take ten minutes on a calm day instead.

• Find the valve and make sure you can reach it. Move anything stacked in front of it.
• Once or twice a year, turn it most of the way closed and back open, so it doesn't seize. If it's stiff, stop and have it looked at.
• Tie a tag or wrap bright tape around it, and show everyone in the house where it is.
• If it takes a tool to turn, keep that tool right next to it.