Tag your critical water valves

Emergency responses

When you have a water leak in your house you will want to get the water shut off as quickly as possible.  Being prepared is will worth the effort.  We have seen many homes that suffered far more damage than expected because homeowners did not know where to find the main water valve for the home.

In a modern home, mechanical systems can be extensive and the mechanical room can be complicated, with pipes and valves everywhere. Heating systems, A/C, water heaters, water filtration, humidifiers etc. Pipes going everywhere, valves everywhere.

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 In this photo there are nine different valves.  Determining which one is the main water shut off can be difficult, even more difficult if your basement, bathroom or kitchen is filling with water.  You can see in this photo some of the valves are tagged for their function but that may not tell you which one will stop the flow of water into your house.

Take a few minutes and identify the main water shutoff valve and tag it so that anyone in the home could find it quickly and easily with no confusion.  You don’t want to be searching for a flashlight and some reading glasses to read the small print when an emergency happens.

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In this installation the valve leading into the water filter is the main shutoff.  Your home may be different so take the time and identify the main water shutoff valve.

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The valve identified in this photo will stop the flow of water into the home water pipes.

There will be a main water shutoff valve right where the waterline enters the house, often this will be in a basement or crawlspace.  Find the location where water comes into the home and identify the valve in that location.

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You can see in this photo the main water supply comes in from the ground in this crawlspace.  The valve closest to the ground and vapor barrier will stop all flow of water into the homes systems.

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Take the time to find the critical valves in your system and tag them.  You will be glad you did if you even have a water leak. Visit our Water Damage Restoration page for more details.

Last edited on 10th of October 2023