How to shut off the water to your home (and to one fixture)

Know where your shutoffs are before you need them

The single most useful thing you can do to limit water damage is know how to stop the flow fast. There are two shutoffs that matter: the main shutoff for the whole house, and the local shutoff for a single fixture. Learn both today, not during the emergency.

Shutting off water to the whole house

Most Santa Monica and Westside homes have a main shutoff valve near where the water line enters the house: at the street-side wall, in a garage, near the water heater, or at the front hose bib area. Turn the handle clockwise until it stops. On an older gate valve you may need several full turns. On a newer ball valve, a quarter turn is enough. If the valve is stiff or will not turn, do not force it hard enough to break it. Call us instead.

Shutting off water to one fixture

Most sinks and toilets have their own small shutoff valve underneath or behind them, usually a small oval or round handle on the supply line. Turn it clockwise to stop water to just that fixture, which is faster and less disruptive than killing water to the whole house.

• Toilet: shutoff is on the wall behind the tank, low to the floor.
• Sink: shutoffs are under the cabinet, one for hot and one for cold.
• Washing machine: shutoffs are usually on the wall behind the unit.
• Water heater: has its own cold-inlet shutoff, usually a lever.

If a fixture shutoff is corroded, frozen, or missing, that is normal in older homes and it is one of the small things we check and can replace during a visit.

After you shut the water off

Once water is stopped, mop up standing water and move anything that can be damaged (rugs, boxes, electronics) away from the wet area. Do not use a wet-dry vacuum on standing water near an outlet or panel. If the leak is significant, or you are not confident the shutoff worked, that is an emergency and we come out now, any hour, any day.

Turning off water is not a repair. Once the water is off, the leak still needs to be found and fixed, so plan to call us even if the immediate danger has passed. If it is after hours, our after-hours diagnostic fee and 1.5x labor rate apply, same as any other emergency call.

Need a hand? Harborline dispatch is 24/7 at (310) 555-0148.