A burst supply line can put hundreds of gallons on your floor before a plumber can get there. The valve that stops it takes seconds to close, if you already know where it is. Here is how to find your shutoffs today, and what to do in the first five minutes of a leak.
Water near outlets or the electrical panel? Stay out of standing water that could reach anything plugged in. If you can reach the breaker panel from a dry spot, shut off power to the flooded area first. If you cannot reach it without stepping in water, stay out and call SDG&E at 1-800-411-7343, then call us.
Most San Diego County homes are built on a slab, so the main valve is outside: on the pipe that comes up out of the ground along the front or side wall facing the street, usually near a hose bib. Older homes sometimes have it in the garage. In a condo, check the utility closet or ask your HOA, because some buildings share one valve. Tag it so anyone in the house can find it.
If the leak is at one toilet, sink, or appliance, turn the small oval handle under or behind it clockwise until it stops. That keeps water on for the rest of the house. For a leak on the hot side, close the cold inlet valve on top of the water heater.
A lever handle is a ball valve: a quarter turn so the lever sits across the pipe closes it. A round wheel is a gate valve: turn it clockwise until snug, and stop there. Old gate valves can snap if forced, which turns a leak into a geyser.
Open the lowest faucet in the house, usually an outside hose bib, to empty the lines. Then check the meter box near the curb: if the small red triangle on the dial has stopped spinning, the water is off. If it is still moving, something is open or the leak is between the meter and the house.
Stop and call us if: the main valve will not turn or starts leaking at the stem when you try, you cannot find a main valve at all, or the meter keeps spinning with every valve in the house closed, which points to a leak underground or under the slab. If water is coming from the street side of the meter, that pipe belongs to your water agency; call the 24-hour number on your water bill. A seized or leaking gate valve is worth replacing with a quarter-turn ball valve before the next emergency, and it is a short job.
Call and describe it. We will tell you what it likely is, what it usually involves, and how soon we can be there.
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Tell us what is going on and we will give you a real answer, a real timeframe, and an upfront price.
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