A broken pipe or appliance can flood your house. You’ll need to act quickly to stop the flow in an emergency, and that means knowing where your water shutoff valves are. Knowing these locations may also save you time during future home repairs.
How to shut off water in the kitchen
The kitchen sink shutoffs are the easiest to find. They’re usually just under the sink and have pipes leading straight up to either side of the faucet. These will be for the faucet, dishwasher, instant hot dispenser and water filter. The icemaker valve could be there or behind the refrigerator or under the floor in a basement area.
Bathroom water shutoff
If you have a bathroom vanity, your sink shutoffs will be similar to the arrangement in the kitchen. The shutoff valve for your toilet is almost always in the open right under the toilet tank. The tub and shower valve do not have shutoff valves as a rule. If there is a problem with these 2 fixtures, turn the whole house valve off.
Laundry Room shutoff
The shutoffs in your laundry room are behind or above the washer.
Water heater shutoff
Your water heater has a valve on the cold water side. This valve is used to service the water heater without turning the whole house water off. It can be used to stop a hot water leak elsewhere without turning the whole house off.
Whole house shutoff
The most important shutoff is your home’s main valve. If you have a water meter box, it always has a shutoff valve. It may require a water meter key to turn it off. You may have a shutoff valve on the perimeter of your house, or in the crawl space of your house. In cold climate areas you may have a shutoff valve buried in the ground in a box or it may have a rod extending out of the ground. This one is very important in cold climate areas. If you have snow on the ground, it will be the quickest way to turn your water off. If you can’t find it, hire a plumber to find it for you or install one.
Make sure multiple members of your family are aware of these locations. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to send someone to shut them off. Consider putting brightly colored tags or even a sign on the main water valves to save even more time in a crisis.