Water is Everywhere! Where’s the Shut-off Valve?

Plumbing Solutions of Idaho expert tips

As a homeowner, you may not need to know that much about plumbing (and if you don’t, you are certainly not alone). But there are a few simple tricks that could seriously help you in a bad situation. It only takes a few minutes of not knowing what to do with a small water problem to become a big problem. In a lot of cases, your water spillage is related to a specific fixture. Maybe it is the toilet; maybe it is the kitchen sink. Whatever the case, you can usually find a way to isolate the problem and prevent water damage if you act quickly with the right knowledge.

​Water Shutoff Valves

As their name suggests, water shutoff valves turn off the water. But not all of the water, just a localized water fixture. Above, we mentioned the kitchen sink. So say your sink is overflowing and the faucet handle is broken (an unfortunate series of events that does happen). Before water spills onto your kitchen floor and into the next room, ruining your new carpet, if you can locate the shutoff valve, you are safe. Shutoff valves are most commonly found under the sink, attached to the pipe leading up to your faucet. Of course, there’s more than just the kitchen sink. Here’s where to locate your other water shutoff valves:

  • Sinks: look for these valves under the counter or in the cabinet below
  • Water heaters: find the pipes leading directly to the heater tank
  • Toilets: the valve is typically behind and below the toilet
  • Washing machines: these valves can be found behind the appliances where they connect to the water supply

Hopefully, this will help you avoid any problems, but if you do have a catastrophe before you can get to that valve, just give us a call!

By Tim Smith

Published: September 20, 2016

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