How to find your water shut-off valve (before you need it)

When a pipe bursts, the first few minutes decide how much damage you get. Here's where the main shut-off usually hides, how to turn it, and the smaller valves worth knowing too.

Ask most people where their main water shut-off is and you'll get a shrug. That's fine until the day water is coming through the ceiling. Finding it takes ten minutes now, and turns a flood into a mop-up later.

Where it usually is

The main shut-off sits where the water line enters your home, usually on the wall closest to the street.

• Basements and utility rooms. In colder climates the line comes in below the frost line, so look along the front foundation wall, often near the water meter.
• Crawlspaces and garages. Common in homes without basements.
• Outside. In warmer regions the valve may be in a box near the foundation, or by the meter at the property line. The meter-side valve often belongs to the water utility and can need a special key.
• Condos and apartments. Look for a shut-off for your unit under the kitchen sink, in a utility closet or near the water heater, and ask your building manager if you can't find it.

Which way is off

There are two common kinds of valve.

Ball valve (a lever). A quarter turn closes it. When the lever sits across the pipe, it's off; when it lines up with the pipe, it's on.

Gate valve (a round wheel). Turn it clockwise until it stops. It can take several turns.

Old gate valves can stick or fail when they haven't moved in years. If yours won't budge with firm hand pressure, don't force it with a wrench, which is how old valves break. Have a plumber look at it, and think about replacing it with a ball valve.

The other valves in your home

Fixture shut-offs stop water to one thing without shutting down the whole house.

• Under sinks and behind toilets: small oval handles on the supply lines.
• Water heater: a valve on the cold-water line going into the tank.
• Washing machine: two valves behind it, hot and cold. Braided steel hoses tend to outlast rubber ones.
• Outdoor faucets: often an indoor valve on the line that feeds each one.

Test it, gently

Once you've found the main valve, close it and open a faucet to confirm the water stops. Then open the valve slowly; opening it quickly can send a pressure surge through the pipes. If it drips at the stem after you've moved it, a plumber can usually fix that in minutes.

Write it down

Take a photo of the valve and where it is, and put it somewhere everyone in the house can find it. If you use Handyman, send it the photo: it files the location with your home's record, so anyone you share the home with (or a plumber at 2 a.m.) can find it fast. Start your home's record.