Plumbing problems can occur day or night at the most inconvenient of times and need to be dealt with promptly. Your Local Plumber in Stoke-on-Trent offers a an emergency plumbing service and aims to be with you within 60 minutes of your call to us.
Do you know how to turn off your water supply?
Inside Stop Valve (this is the point where the water supply enters the property)
In most instances the internal water supply can be stopped by turning off the inside Stop Valve (often referred to as Stop Cock). This can usually be located under the kitchen sink and can be closed by turning it clockwise.
Individual Appliances Some water using appliances such as toilets, taps and washing machines to name a few have their own shut off valves, which will allow you to effectively isolate the water flowing to that particular device. The picture to the right shows a separate shut off valve to a washing machine. By turning the valve 90° clockwise this will shut off the water supply to this individual appliance.
Gravity fed water systems If you have a gravity feed water supply system, which is made up of a water tank (usually located in the loft or high up in the property) and a hot water cylinder, even with the main water supply turned off it will continue supplying water to hot taps and sometimes to the cold taps and toilet in the bathroom. In most cases the water tank in the loft should have it's own shut off valve, by turning this off you will prevent it from emptying further.
Outside shut off valves
If for some reason you are unable to turn off the inside stop valve (mentioned above) or if you have a leak/burst pipe outside the property, it may be necessary to turn off the outside shut off valve.
The outside shut off valve (stop cock) controls the cold water supply going into your property and can be located at the property boundary, quite often found in the front garden or on the pavement. For properties on a water meter the stop valve can usually be located in the same chamber as the meter itself. The valve can be turned off by turning it clockwise.