The incoming water line usually comes through the foundation near the front side of your house and follows this line up to the water meter. Just past the meter should be the main water shut-off valve, a red or green handle or knob. If you can’t find the main water shut-off valve inside the house, check outside near an external faucet.
For homes built on a slab, your water main shut-off valve is likely close to your water heater tank. To find the valve housing, look for a round or rectangular cover near your property boundary. The main water shut-off valve can usually be found in a mechanical room where the water heater is located, or under the kitchen sink. In warmer regions of the United States, one effective method for finding an outdoor water shut-off valve is by reviewing your home’s blueprints or building plans, which often provide comprehensive details regarding plumbing system installations.
If you have a basement and crawlspace, it is probably located on an interior wall near the front of the house, where the water comes in from the water meter. Your house valve is typically located on the outside of your home, may be in the front, on the side, or in the backyard. Look for a hose bib (outside faucet) next to your home with a pipe coming up from the ground. The house valve is located on that pipe between the ground and the hose bib.
Most main water shut-off valves are located inside the home, in the basement if it has one, just a few feet from where the main water line enters the house. It can vary from home to home but typically comes through an area near the front of the house. If you have a basement, check there. If you have a garage, it is most accessible for city employees.
Water shut-off valves are generally located near where water enters the house, either on an outside wall near where a water line enters or near the front curb.
📹 Shutting Off The Water: How to Find the Main Water Shut Off Valve
Jump to 1:27 if you are having an emergency. Introduction 0:00 Finding the City Water Line 0:52 Locating the Valve Inside 1:56 …
📹 Basic Plumbing How To Find The Water Shut Off Valve At Your Home
(tht0999) Please watch: “TheHandymanToolbox Live Stream: The DIY Home Improvement Tips & Solutions Show” …
Thank you so much. The water got turned off of a deceased grandparents house due to a leak. I got it cut back on, but the water company didn’t turn the master valve to turn it back on, even though they activated the water again. Someone on that contracted to check out the leak issue turn off the master valve I didn’t detail that to me, so I haven’t had water for almost a week, and have been trying to figure out how to get it turned back on, finding that Master valve.
Finally the right answer. This has got to be the smartest Plumber on U-tuve. He get’s the question asked. The Meter Shut off valve that belines to the city is not your main shut off valve for your home Utube Plumber s. Thank you, so much for being, not only a plumber, but a thinker. I know it is not your fault that the people, in charge of directing us to the right responders don’t have a clue.
I don’t know where the water line is. I’ve never seen it marked outside anywhere on the sidewalk (small downtown city, row house, no yards). My basement is filled with junk thanks to my hoarder ex and there’s so many different pipes down there, and valves (which I tried all I found and they all sprayed water out), so I’m lost. I’ve got a leaking bathroom sink that I have to fix on my own. I live on disability and can’t afford a plumber. I guess if it gets extreme I’ll have to call 911.
Ours was at the water leak monitor in the garage. This was very informative. Unfortunately we also didn’t have internet service to view this so it took a few minutes to remember & locate! We had a broken water line outside but found a plumber who was able to come out to repair the following day. We’re in Texas, under deep freeze for the week! Still have no water but managing looking forward to warmer days!
Contact your local water companies. It is illegal in alot of States to mess with turning your main water source off from the street. The city owns those water meters. And it takes a locked in key to turn them off properly. Also if you have the new type. U need the magnet cover to reset the pressure when turning it off and on. U can get big fines. How do I know this? My neighbor turned his water off with one of those keys they sale at Home depot and he broke the valve. He was fined 35k and had to pay serious thousands more to the city to fix what he broke.
For my hose, I follow the water pipe coming in from outside and then there’s another spigot inside the basement with the old circular handle shown in the article. But right next to that on the right hand side is another one and no spigot. Beyond that is the main shutoff. I have tried to turn the circular handle to the right of the indoor spigot but I can’t get it to move, and it only slightly turns counterclockwise. So is it ok if I do use a wrench to turn it clockwise? And it is always clockwise to shut it off? Thank you.
If anyone has teenagers or young adults moving out of the house for the 1st time you really should have them watch articles like this. Nobodys kid should leave the nest without knowing how to shut off the main water supply valve, the main gas vavle, and the main breaker in the panel. Also they should know how to find and reset a tripped breaker or tripped GFCI recptical. Thanks for posting Jon. These will be very helpful for my daughter to watch.
I agree that it’s critical to know where the water main shut off is. I bought and moved into my house (Northern NH) in late fall. When winter hit, the pipes to the clothes washer froze. During a thaw, the pipes ruptured; I had a bloody mess on my hands. To make a long story short – I learned during that incident that the main is UNDER the house, in a cold, dark, nasty, uninsulated crawl space. A younger neighbor was kind enough to squeeze under the house to shut off the main. That’s accomplished by running around to the back of the house (through knee hight snow), climbing down into a pit. Then, crawling though a small aperture no more than 3′ by 2′. The furnace is also down there… 🙁 Crawl space mean literally that – there’s insufficient room to stand up. I corrected what caused the frozen pipes. Fast forward about 10 years – the kitchen faucet is dripping. We’re charged for every drop that comes out of the faucet – it’s not cheap. (For anyone who thinks private utilities are better than municipalities, I’m paying more per MONTH than I did per YEAR in my last house, where the water was supplied by the town.) I intended on fixing that leak, which is driving me crazy. (I’m sure it gets louder at night. lol.) The shut-off under the kitchen sink doesn’t shut off the cold water. (Yes, I closed both the hot and cold water valves.) I resigned myself to crawling under the house to shut off the main. Do you think I can FIND it? NOPE. Flashlight in hand – I crawled along the wall that faces the street – there’s NO valve!
Im in a house from 1950 in Florida. I am still unable to find any cutoff valve and only thing that works for me is to use a curbside key to turn the valve that is inside the water meter in the backyard (buried underground). Is it possible that the house contains no other cut-off? Isnt it required by code that there be a cut-off either right outside the house or just inside the house?
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I learned some things from my Father as a young girl because I loved to watch him fix things and build things with wood. But this one is a little different because we had a ranch style home with crawl space not a basement. I really appreciate your post. I will check out some of the other articles and subscribe. 😃
I am looking to take a longer than normal vacation this summer up to as long as 2 months and want to shut off the water to my house. I have been told 2 different ways, 1st shut off at the main valve outside near the street and 2nd way to just shut off valve near water meter in home. Does it really matter, my only concern is that this has not been done since the house was built in 1999 so it has not been done up to this point. One point is if you turn off the valve inside the house this valve could fail so the outside one near the road is a better choice. Only thing is the outside one has been exposed to the elements for years as it sits just above the lawn and is not inside a box or under a cover. Is one way better then the other. Thanks for any info.