Do It Yourself

How to turn off the water before calling a plumber?

If you bought a new home, renting a home , or you have lived in your home since you were a child, here are some tips on basic home plumbing repair. These DIY home plumbing repair tips will come in handy, and everyone in your house hold should be able to do them easily.

• Tip 1 – Turning off the water 

One of the first home plumbing repair a homeowner should know is how to turn off the water to your house and to any plumbing fixture. This is always the first step at DIY home plumbing repair if there is a leak or making any plumbing repair.  So it is very important you learn how to locate the main shut off valve to your home.

To turn off all the water to your home,try to locate the main water shutoff valve, which is usually found at the water meter. Most water meters are buried in the ground near the street and have a concrete cover, though some may be mounted on the side of the house.

If you can not locate the water meter to your home, call your local plumber for help on how to locate . Once you found it turn the shutoff valve 90 degrees with a water meter cutoff key to turn off all the water in your house.

In many cases you don’t have to turn off all the water to the house to for a simple home plumbing repair. Like if you are changing a faucet or toilet. You can close the shut off valve located below the fixture by turning it clockwise. That will stop the water from flowing. Bathtubs and showers are harder to find you should contact your local plumber for a job like that .

• Tip 2 – Turning off your water heater

It is very important that you know this basic home plumbing repair tip. Turning off your water heater can help cause any serious damage if you do have a water heater leak. Knowing how to turn it off before you call the plumber is necessary.

There are two steps involved in turning off a water heater

• Turning off  Gas or Electricity to Water Heater : On gas hot water heaters, turn the gas supply knob on the water heater to the off position. For electric water heaters, flip the circuit breaker or remove the fuse that powers the water heater
• Turning off Water to Water Heater: To turn off the water to a hot water heater, turn the shutoff valve on the cold water supply pipe going into the hot water heater clockwise.