Turning off the water to your house requires you to find the main control valve on your water line; it’s a good idea to do this at your leisure before an emergency occurs. There may be a handle or a valve where your main water line enters your house and/or before the main line enters your water meter. Bear in mind that the water meter may be located outside your house, near the street, underground, with access through a metal cover at the top. If you don’t know where your water meter is, your local utility can help you locate it.

The handles on either of these valves may be rotary (like an older faucet handle), a paddle, or a metal flange. To shut off the water, turn the rotary handle to the right until it will not turn any further or turn the paddle until it will no longer turn. Valves with a metal flange must be turned just a quarter-turn, but they require a pipe wrench to turn them. It is useful to leave a wrench near the valve so it is handy in an emergency.