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| Importance of Cut off Valves | Sign In/Join |
In another thread JaysMom brought up the subject. Every person should know what a cutoff valve is, where they are located. IF they don't exist, have them installed. They are VITAL to the well being of your living space | |||
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I hear you! We are redoing our son and daughter's kitchens and the FIRST thing DH did was install new cut off valves for the whole house and under each sink. Was vital for him to have access to these when doing plumbing and for future problems in the houses. We have ours done too. And then he proceeded to do same with electrical, showing us all where shut offs are for that too! Mary Ruth  *****We don't see things as they are, we see things as WE are! ***** (Anaias Nin)***** http://pinterest.com/mary_ruth/ | |||
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Can't say it enough. Basic part of home maintenance to know where the shut offs, fuse box, etc. ARE and how to use them. If nothing else the shelf above my w/d is cleaned off, ready to re-install and now maybe I can actually remember to shut them off each time. Hmmmmmm.... | ||||
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One more thing-check those cutoff valves often (not sure how often)to make sure they still move. Just went up to check out the toilet. The shut off valve is frozen up there! Could my "friend" call me and let me know at work so I could catch the plumber, no, of course not, he "just didn't think of it". And some people wonder why I've been single all these years LOL!This message has been edited. Last edited by: jaysmom49, | ||||
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Never heard of shut off valves for electricity. Please elaborate | ||||
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Here's something else to worry about (ahh, the joys of homeownership): On the main water cut-off valve to your home, check to see if you have an option to reduce or increase the overall water pressure to the home. I think newer homes have this. Here's why: diligent homeowners that we are, we turned off the main water supply when we went away for vacation. When we returned, DH duly turned the valves on. Within minutes, we heard what sounded like a loud rush of water coming from the master bathroom. Seems the cut-off valve was on high pressure (who knew?) and the force of the water blew out the connection hose to the toilet tank spewing gallons of water (clean water,thank goodness) all over our bathroom floor. What a mess. Thank goodness we were home and caught it before it could do an serious damage to our bedroom floors or the rest of the home. Our plumber, who replaced the hose with a sturdier version, cautioned us to make sure the pressure valve was adjusted to low-medium pressure when we turned it off while away. And, then we could raise the pressure later.This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua, | |||
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Speaking from experience.....that little hose that runs to your icemaker can also cause SIGNIFICANT water damage if it springs a leak. May want to add to your list of hoses to check occasionally. | |||
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Good post! As soon as our kids were old enough to be home alone for a few hours, we showed them where all the shut offs were, especially the main water shut off in the basement. And where the MAIN breaker was in the electrical box and how to shut it off in an emergency. It is a good thing to show anyone who may be staying in your home or taking care of it or taking care of your kids. It can take precious time to find these main shut offs in an emergency. | |||
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I'm confused, don't all homes have a water pressure regulator on the main supply line? The main line is the one that runs from supply line to your home. The water pressure from city water lines can exceed 120 psi. Most homes have the water pressure regulator set between 50 psi to 70 psi. You can have your pressure regulator set at 80 psi but I've never met a plumber that recommended the pressure regulator be set that high. | ||||
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Where the electricity comes into your house there is a breaker (or service) panel with switches that can be flipped to turn off the electricity to various outlets. When I go away I don't turn off everything but do turn off my water heater, the stove, and dryer switches. If I turned off the entire panel my frig, freezer, and lights wouldn't work and my neighbor couldn't water my plants as I'm on a well with pumps that need electricity. I also make sure all small electrical appliances are unplugged and I turn off the toilet taps and flush before leaving. BTW toilet taps don't have to be turned on full force, only enough to fill relatively quickly which is only part way on mine. When we've been away for extended periods in the winter we turned off the main water supply and drained all the pipes. Here in the north with freezing temps it's a precaution. Our insurance co. only demands having someone check every 4 days but if the power (and heating) went out the minute after he left our pipes would be frozen by the next check so it's extra insurance to drain the pipes. Lucky "I have always had an aversion to the concepts of in style and out of style." ~Rose Tarlow Inspirational pics: http://inspiration4u.shutterfly.com/ | |||
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I'm confused, don't all homes have a water pressure regulator on the main supply line? [/QUOTE] I have no idea if all homes have this; I am just talking about my own home. And, my plumber did not recommend a particular PSI, just to keep it on low-medium while we are away. And, my main line cutoff doesn't list PSI; just low, medium,high. | |||
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I have no idea if all homes have this; I am just talking about my own home. And, my plumber did not recommend a particular PSI, just to keep it on low-medium while we are away. And, my main line cutoff doesn't list PSI; just low, medium,high.[/QUOTE] Thank you for answering aychihuahua. Apparently not all homes have a water pressure regulating valve. I was looking into the water pressure for cities and I found a rebate page for a water pressure regulating valve for residential customers in the City of Austin. http://www.austintexas.gov/dep...ulating-valve-rebate I was surprised that homeowners with high pressure didn't automatically install them because high water pressure can damage your pipes, water using appliances, shower heads and toilets. | ||||
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Your local water supply source pumps pressure at an average amount in any given area, depending on where you are located and how far from the pumping station. For example our city's water pressure varies from a low 35 to a high 115. We have 75, or about mid range. It is a good thing to inquire about if you are adding underground sprinklers and concerned about enough pressure to run them. As far as shutting off your water at the main, it is always preferable to use the shutoff on the house supply side of the meter. The shut off before the meter (or on the city side) is your last ditch shut off in an emergency situation (other than the street shut off which is usually buried) If you have your own well and pressure system, that is a whole other ball of wax...so to speak. | |||
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That's right. My house shutoff is easy to locate; it's right in in the garage. I'd never use the city side shut-off; I'm pretty sure we are forbid from accessing it. Even though it's on our lot, the city meter is NOT our property. | |||
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