Find your main water shutoff before you need it
The single most valuable ten minutes of homeownership. Do it this weekend, then show your spouse.
What you need
- Flashlight
- Water meter key (for the street valve)
- 1
Start where the water enters
In most Utah homes the main valve sits in the basement or crawlspace on the wall facing the street, often near the water heater or the front hose bib.
- 2
Identify the valve type
A lever ball valve turns a quarter turn to close. A round gate valve needs several full clockwise turns. Know which one you have before it is spraying.
- 3
Exercise it once a year
Close it fully, then reopen it. Valves that never move seize up and snap at the worst possible moment.
- 4
Tag it and teach it
Zip-tie a bright tag on the valve and walk every adult in the house to it. A shutoff only one person can find is half a shutoff.
- 5
Know the backups
Learn the toilet and sink angle stops too, plus the curb stop at the street. Local shutoffs let you fix one fixture without going dry for the whole house.
Plumber's tip
Photograph the valve and drop the picture in a shared album called House. It beats yelling directions over the phone while water rises.
Stop and call us if
The valve leaks when you turn it, will not close all the way, or snaps off in your hand. That is an emergency call, not a Saturday project.
Call Pando Plumbing