How do I turn off the water supply to my home?
Knowing how to shut off the water supply can mean the difference between an inconvenient mess and a catastrophe.
The first thing you need to do is locate the mains stop tap. There should usually be two, one inside the house and one outside towards the road.
You’ll likely find the internal mains stop tap under your kitchen sink, otherwise have a look in a downstairs bathroom or toilet. House builders generally don’t fit a stop tap in plain view, so you may have to look around a while.
The external mains shut-off valve will be on the main line that supplies water to your home. Usually a small square metal cover will be visible in the pavement or in your drive. If you have a water meter fitted this is probably where you will find it. In the winter months you may find that the shut-off valve is completely submerged with the standing ground water. If you are forced to use this shut-off valve, you’ll ideally need a shut off valve tool (an adjustable spanner or pipe wrench will probably work at a push).
One important note: if you are using the water meter shut-off valve, make sure the water you are affecting is yours. Turning off your neighbour’s water may not be a very wise thing to do. A sure tell tale is to leave the kitchen cold tap partially running prior to turning off the shut-off valve. The kitchen cold tap is directly fed from the mains supply and will be immediately affected by the shut-off valve.
Should there be a problem with the shut off valve e.g. seized, buried under debris or soil, then you should call your area water supplier. A service engineer/surveyor will come out, usually within a few hours and locate and turn the shut-off valve off for you. Any remedial repairs needed, i.e shut-off valve replacement will then be scheduled for a later date.
