How to Shut Off Your Water Before the Plumber Arrives

The single most valuable thing you can do in a plumbing emergency is shut off the water — fast. Every minute water keeps flowing adds to the damage. In South Florida's humidity, it's also the difference between a dry-out job and a mold remediation.

Here's the problem: most people don't know where their shutoff is until they need it. Let's fix that now. It'll take 5 minutes, and it could save you $5,000.

Find your main shutoff before you need it

Single-family homes

You have two shutoffs:

1. The curb/street valve — at the water meter, usually in a small rectangular concrete box flush with your front yard or swale. Requires a special key or large wrench. This is what the utility uses. Use it only if the house valve fails.
2. The house shutoff — typically where the water supply pipe enters the home. In most South Florida single-family homes, that's on the exterior wall closest to the street, often near a hose bib, sometimes behind a bush. In older homes, it may be in a garage or utility closet.

Condos and apartments

Your unit has its own shutoff, usually located at:

• Inside a utility closet (often near the water heater or A/C handler)
• Behind an access panel in a bathroom or laundry area
• Near the front door in some luxury high-rises

Some older buildings don't have unit-level shutoffs — in which case the only way to stop water to your unit is a floor-level or building-level shutoff operated by maintenance. If that's your situation, you need to know the property manager's emergency number as well as your own shutoff location.

Townhouses

Usually the same as single-family: where water enters the unit, often in a garage or utility closet. Some shared-wall townhouses have the shutoff in a shared mechanical room — check with your HOA.

How to actually turn it off

1. Identify the valve type. Most modern valves are quarter-turn (ball valves) — the handle is a lever. Older valves are gate valves with a round wheel handle.
2. Ball valve: turn the lever 90 degrees (a quarter turn) until it's perpendicular to the pipe. That's closed.
3. Gate valve: turn the wheel clockwise until it stops. Do not over-tighten — if it feels like the stem is threading past the seat, stop.
4. Open a faucet on the lowest floor to confirm flow stops within 10–20 seconds.
5. If nothing stops or only trickles out, the valve is partially seized. Call us and we'll talk you through backup options.

Fixture-specific shutoffs

If the leak is at one fixture, you can usually shut off water just to that fixture without affecting the rest of the home:

• Toilet: small oval valve on the wall behind the toilet, near the floor. Turn clockwise.
• Sink: two shutoff valves under the cabinet (hot and cold). Turn clockwise.
• Washing machine: valves on the wall behind the machine. Turn clockwise.
• Water heater: cold-water inlet valve on top of the heater. Turn clockwise. Also turn off the gas or power.
• Dishwasher: often on the hot-water supply under the adjacent sink.

After water is off

1. Photograph the source of the leak and the path the water took. Useful for insurance and for us to diagnose faster.
2. Move valuables off wet floors.
3. If water is already on flooring, start toweling or mopping — every hour matters for floor/subfloor damage in humid climates.
4. Do not turn water back on to check if the leak "stopped" — unless the plumber on the phone tells you to.
5. Call 754-707-1774. We'll dispatch the closest technician.

Build a 'plumbing emergency kit' today

Put these in a labeled bag near the main shutoff. You'll be glad you did at 2 AM:

• A pipe wrench or adjustable wrench (for stuck valves)
• A meter key (T-handle tool for the curb valve) if you're in a single-family home
• A flashlight
• A roll of thick towels or chamois
• A printed sheet with: your address, your plumber's number (754-707-1774), your property manager if applicable, and your insurance claim number