How to Shut Off the Water During a Plumbing Emergency

Start at the fixture

Toilets, sinks, and most water heaters have their own stop valve. For a toilet it sits on the wall behind the bowl on the left side; under a sink there is usually one valve for hot and one for cold. Turn clockwise until it stops.

If the valve is stiff or spins without doing anything, stop forcing it and go to the main shutoff instead. Old multi-turn stops often break at exactly the moment you need them.

Find the main shutoff

In much of the Dallas–Fort Worth area, homes on slab have a main shutoff near the front hose bib, in the garage, or in a utility closet by the water heater. Homes with a crawlspace or older stock may only have the meter.

The meter box is typically a rectangular concrete or plastic lid near the curb or sidewalk. Inside, the shutoff sits on the street side of the meter and usually needs a meter key or an adjustable wrench.

Turn off the water heater

Once the water is off, kill power or gas to the water heater. For electric, switch off the breaker; for gas, turn the control knob to the pilot or off position. A heater firing on an empty or draining tank can be damaged quickly.

Then drain the pressure

Open the lowest fixture in the house — a tub spout or an outside hose bib — to relieve pressure and pull standing water out of the lines. That reduces how much keeps leaking while you wait.