Plumbing Emergency? Shut It Off First

Stop the water first, then call. Here's how.

Joey answers emergency calls 24 hours a day.

1Main water shutoff

1. In most south OC homes the main is at the front of the house near a hose bib, in the garage, or in the meter box at the curb.
2. Ball valve: the handle is a straight lever. Turn it a quarter turn so the handle sits crosswise to the pipe. Crosswise means off.
3. Gate valve: the handle is a round wheel. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
4. Open a sink faucet. When the water stops, the main is off.
5. If the valve is stuck, or the curb box needs a key you don't have, don't force it. Call Joey.

Ball valve: quarter turn so the lever is crosswise to the pipe. Gate valve: turn the wheel clockwise until it stops.

2Fixture shutoffs

1. Use these when one fixture is leaking and you want the rest of the house to stay on.
2. Toilet: the small valve is on the supply line behind the toilet, on the wall or the floor.
3. Sink: look in the cabinet. Hot and cold each have a valve. Turn the one that feeds the leak.
4. Washing machine: the valves are on the wall behind the machine, where the hoses connect.
5. Turn the handle a quarter turn so it sits across the pipe. Older round-handle valves turn clockwise until they stop.

Quarter-turn valves: handle across the pipe = off.

3Water heater

1. Shut off the cold water supply on top of the heater. A lever turns crosswise to the pipe. A round wheel turns clockwise until it stops.
2. Gas: turn the gas control knob to OFF or PILOT.
3. Electric: flip the water heater breaker off.
4. Tankless: close the isolation valves under the unit.

Tank: close the cold valve on top. Tankless: close both isolation valves under the unit. Handle across the pipe = off.

4While you wait

1. Turn off electricity near standing water only if you can reach the panel without stepping in water. If you can't reach it safely, leave it.
2. Move valuables away from the water.
3. Take photos of the leak. They help with insurance, and they help Joey see the problem.

Joey George Plumbing, local and owner-operated, serving Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest, Laguna Beach, and nearby south OC cities.