You’ve heard the horror stories. A family comes home from vacation to find their house flooded after a leak sprung up and flowed unchecked for a week. Or a person wakes up one morning to suddenly find herself standing ankle-deep in water.

The moral of those stories? Pipes can leak. Sometimes they can even burst. And when that happens, water flows out quickly – as much as 20 gallons a minute. Knowing how to shut off the water supply can mean the difference between a common mess and a catastrophe.

The first thing you need to do is locate the cut off valves. There should be two.

You’ll likely find the main valve inside the water meter box that was installed by your municipal water department. The other valve will be on the line that supplies water to your home. It too could be at the meter or it might be at the point where the water line enters the house, possibly in the basement, somewhere along the foundation of your home or even in a closet. Homeowners generally don’t want a valve in plain view, so you’ll probably have to look a while for that one.

The supply line valve near or in your home will likely have a handle. But if you are forced to use the shut-off at the street, you’ll need a cutoff tool (a crescent wrench or pipe wrench will work in a pinch).  Under the water meter cover you’ll see a thin metal bar set parallel to the pipe that it’s on. Turn that bar until it is perpendicular to the pipe and you’ll have shut the supply.

One important note: if you are using the water meter shut-off, make sure the water you are affecting is yours. Turning off your neighbor’s water would not be a very friendly thing to do.

If you’re having trouble locating your shut-off valves, call ARS or Rescue Rooter and we’ll walk you through the entire process.