You must first remove any hoses or splitters from the outdoor faucets. Once you have removed those, you should locate the water shut-off valve which can most likely be found in the basement. Shut off the water valve by rotating it until it can not turn anymore.
It's usually the valve located closest to your home. To turn it off, twist it clockwise with the water meter key or pliers until it stops moving. Do not force the valve after it stops turning.
Your house valve is typically located on the outside of your home. It may be in the front, on the side or in the backyard. Look for a hose bib (outside faucet) next to your home with a pipe coming up from the ground (Photo 1). The house valve is located on that pipe between the ground and the hose bib.
In many modern homes—especially those in colder climates—builders install a dedicated cut-off valve or stop valve that controls only the outdoor water supply. This makes it easy to shut off only the outside water, during the winter months, without disrupting water to the rest of the house.
The outside water shut-off valve is highly functional and easily recognizable. It has a round shape, typically with a handle on top resembling a large wheel. Usually, it is made of brass or plastic, but can be found in other materials as well.
While some buildings have the water meter inside the property, most modern homes have their shut-off valve outside. Here are some tips on how to find your main valve, and what to do to stop indoor flooding.
Your outside stop valve is normally located under a cover on the path or the road. It can also be: In the same area as your water meter. At the end of your road.
If you forget to disconnect your hose before temperatures begin to drop, your hose can freeze, and suddenly you have ice in the spigot and pipes inside your home. Left unattended, the frozen water can continue to expand until it bursts the supply pipe leading to the spigot itself.
Usually, the valve is located on the interior wall of the house, directly behind the outside faucet. It will have either a gate valve (wheel-shaped handle) or a ball valve (lever-shaped handle). To shut off water to the spigot, turn the gate shut-off valve clockwise until it stops.
The most common types of water shutoff valves for homes are ball valves and gate valves (found on main water pipes), angled and straight fixture shutoff valves (found on faucets, toilets, and appliances), and globe valves and stop-and-waste valves (found outdoors).
Your valve is likely in one of these places: On a perimeter wall of your house. At ground level, so you'll be looking for it at eye level or above in a basement or lower on the wall if you're on the ground level floor. In a straight line from your outdoor water meter.
Use the screwdriver or stop tap key to lift the cover. Lift out the frost pad. You may see your water meter with the stop tap beside it or just the stop tap. Turn the stop tap CLOCKWISE or to the right to turn the water OFF and ANTI-CLOCKWISE or to the left to turn it ON.
Pipes: Turn off water supply to the house and drain pipes to protect them from freezing. You can empty pipes by running the water and flushing the toilets after the water has been turned off. After draining the pipes, it is a good idea to leave the faucets open to prevent pressure build up from any water that remains.
The main water shut-off valves have either lever or round wheel handles. Home water shut-off valves are typically found in the following locations in or around your house: Outside water shut-off valves: Could be outdoors along an exterior wall, perhaps near a hose, where the main water line enters your house.
The main water shut-off valve looks like a lever or wheel-like handle attached to a pipe near where the water supply enters your home. It's usually larger and more robust than other valves in your plumbing system.
Pipes can still burst in freezing temperatures even after you turn off your home's water. The pipes will still have water inside them, which means the water may freeze and potentially burst your pipes.
Outdoor hose faucets typically won't have a separate shut off valve just for them. They are screwed directly into a threaded fitting that is attached to the pipe in the wall. This means the water must be shut off to the house in order to make repairs or replace these faucets.
External stop taps are normally found outside your home in the public footpath. They are sometimes located in driveways, gardens or grass verges.
It looks like a spout-less tap or lever and sits between two lengths of pipe acting as a connector. Make sure you are aware of the location of your internal stop tap and check it's working regularly as you may need it in an emergency, such as a burst pipe.