Homeowners Are Urged to Find and Label This Crucial Valve Now – Struggling to Find It During Leaks Could Mean $1,000s Extra in Repairs
Knowing where your water valve is can help greatly with damage control if the worst happens and your pipes spring a leak
As temperatures drop, many of us focus on the obvious home maintenance tasks, such as cleaning gutters and insulating pipes, but overlook the importance of finding our main water valve.
It might sound inconsequential, but knowing where the shut-off point is and how to operate it can save you thousands on potential flood damage repairs, even if your pipes are protected.
This is the Crucial Valve Homeowners Must Find Before This Winter
A desperate scramble to find and fix common household leaks is a very real risk in winter, especially if you live somewhere that regularly drops and stays below freezing. Even if you have taken the time to insulate pipes, unheated parts of your home, or old or worn insulation can allow for freezing pipework.
The result? Bursts that can cause thousands of dollars of damage if you do not stop the water flow quickly. To do this, you have to know where your main water valve is and how to use it. It is the essential first step in knowing what to do when a pipe bursts.
Prevention is always better than the cure.
The easiest way to locate your main water valve to get your home emergency ready is by looking at the plans for your home. However, if you do not have access to them, Kevin Vander Hyde, vice president at Vander Hyde Services, advises, 'Start by checking the perimeter of your home where the water line enters, which is typically in a basement, crawl space, utility room, or along an exterior wall facing the street.
'In warmer climates, it may be located outside near a hose bib or under a ground-level access panel. The valve itself is typically a wheel-style gate valve or a lever-style ball valve. Once you find it, practice turning it off and on to make sure it moves freely.
'When you’ve found your main water valve, it’s always a good idea to label it clearly and ensure that every member of the household knows where it is,' he adds. Even children should be educated on its function to assist in an emergency if the valve is in a safe and accessible location. Working out the right age for children to start chores can help you decide if your child is ready for this.
Should a leak occur, you can then quickly turn off the water flow to prevent the problem from getting worse. With that handled, you can then call a pro for repairs.
Repairs can range in cost depending on the scale of the leak, the water damage, and the location. A small leak that is turned off quickly may only cost a few hundred dollars to repair. However, a bigger leak, or a leak that is left running for too long, can climb into the $1-2,000 mark, including call-out fees. This price can increase should you need drywall repairs, or professional mold remediation. This is why acting quickly to turn off your water is essential.
Of course, water leaks can happen in inconvenient spots. That is why it is worth investing in some smart water leak detectors from Amazon. These sensors fit perfectly in awkward spots where pipes are most likely to freeze and burst, such as in basements, crawlspaces, and attics, and send an immediate alert to your phone when water is detected. This promotes fast action to stop the flow and protect your home from further damage.
Setting up a smart home does more than just offer convenience; it can be part of a great protection strategy, too. Smart home thermostats, from Walmart, are also great tools, alerting you to potentially freezing conditions around pipes, so you can drip faucets as needed to prevent freezing and leaks. They are also great additions to your attic storage to protect your home from ceiling leaks resulting from ice dams.
What to Shop
Water leak detectors are great for keeping tabs on the more awkward pats of your home, so you do not experience any slow leaks for weeks without noticing them.
These WiFi humidistats keep tabs on the temperature and humidity around your home, alerting you to potentially damaging low temperatures and helping you to prevent mold.
Insulating your pipes is a great way to protect against damage, helping to prevent freezing to lower the risk of leaks.
Heat tape is a better defence against freezing than dripping faucets and insulation padding alone. It is best used in very cold climates where temperatures stay below zero for prolonged periods of time, or in areas of the home that are difficult to heat.
A dehumifier will be your best friend if a leak does occur. After shutting off the water flow and contacting a plumber to help with repair work, this tool will help to dry the affected area out to prevent mold and further damage to your property.
A smart thermostat can ensure your home never drops below a set temperature, helping to protect internal pipework from freezing, even when you are not at home.
Meet the Expert
Kevin J. Vander Hyde is the Vice President of Vander Hyde Services, a second-generation home services business that has proudly served the people of Grand Rapids, Michigan, since 1989. Growing up, he assisted his father in the office and has developed extensive experience in plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical systems, making him a recognized expert in his industry.
If your home suffered frozen pipes but they have not yet burst, follow the steps to thaw frozen pipes safely and prevent a leak.
