When water is pouring out, every minute adds to the damage. Knowing where your shutoff valves are, before you need them, is the cheapest plumbing protection there is.
Start with the closest valve
If the leak is at one fixture, shut off just that fixture:
- Toilet: the oval handle on the wall behind the toilet, near the floor.
- Sink: the two valves under the sink, one for hot and one for cold.
- Washing machine: the two valves on the wall behind the washer.
Turn them clockwise (to the right) until they stop. The rest of the house keeps its water.
Then the main shutoff for the whole house
If the leak is in a wall, a ceiling or a pipe you can't reach, shut off the whole house. In many Arizona homes the main shutoff is outside, where the water line comes up out of the ground, often near the front of the house by a hose spigot. In others it's in the garage, near the water heater or water softener.
There are two common kinds:
- Lever handle (ball valve): a quarter turn. When the lever sits across the pipe, the water is off.
- Round handle (gate valve): turn it clockwise several times until it stops.
Your water meter box near the street has a valve too, but it belongs to your water provider and usually takes a special key. Use the house valve first.
If the water heater is leaking
- Close the cold water valve on the pipe going into the top of the heater.
- Gas heater: turn the gas control knob to "Pilot" or "Off". Electric heater: switch off its breaker in the electrical panel.
- Don't touch the tank or the pipes on top; the water inside can be very hot.
After the water is off
- Open a faucet at the lowest point of the house to drain the pressure out of the pipes.
- Move what you can away from the water, and take photos for your insurance.
- Call a licensed plumber. OX Plumbing answers 24/7, nights, weekends and holidays included, and you reach an OX team member directly, not a call center.
Check your valves once a year
Shutoff valves that never get turned can stick. Once a year, find each one and turn it off and back on. If a valve won't turn, leaks at the handle, or you can't find your main shutoff at all, don't force it. Call us: we can find it for you and replace a valve that's stuck or leaking, so it works on the day you need it. More on plumbing maintenance.