The most important thing you can do for your plumbing is learn how to shut off the water supply to your entire home and to individual fixtures. Doing this can help you avoid costly water damage in your home when you have a leak.

If you need to shut off the water to the entire house, use one of the three main line shut-off valves.

• The first shut-off valve is typically located where the water line comes in to the house, usually in the basement or crawl space on an outside wall near the front of the house. It may also be near the water heater or in the garage if the home is built on a slab. This shutoff valve can usually be turned off by hand. Just turn the valve handle clockwise to turn off all water to the house.
• The Second shut-off valve is usually in a box buried in the ground in front of the water meter, which is usually on the edge of your property near the street. If there is a leak on the water line outside your home, you may have to shut the water off at this location. Sometimes you can turn this valve off by hand, but you might need a “key” to turn it off.
• The third shut-off valve is at the water meter itself. Shutting it off requires a special key.
  

If you don’t know where your shut-off valve is, or you don’t have the right tool handy, call your local water department or Atlanta Plumbing Plus to shut your water off for you.If you only need to shut off the water to a single fixture in your home, use the individual shut-off valve for that fixture.

Once the main line enters your home it branches off to smaller lines, one for each of the fixtures in your home (sinks, toilets, water heater, etc.). Each of these individual supply lines should have its own shut-off valve. Become familiar with their locations (under sinks, beside toilets, near the water heater) so that if a leak occurs at one of your fixtures, you can turn the water off to that fixture only while our plumber is on his way, instead of turning off the water to the entire house.

You should check all the shut-off valves for your home at least once a year. To do this, simply open and close each one carefully. This help to prevent them from sticking when you need to use them. If you find that one of the valves is sticking or leaking, call us to replace it right away. You want to be sure it will work for you if you ever do need it.