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If water is coming in right now, go to the main shut-off and turn it clockwise until it stops. It is usually where the supply enters the house, or in the meter box at the street. Everything else on this page is worth reading on a calm afternoon, but that sentence is the emergency.
Most houses have two: one on the house, and one at the meter. Either stops the water; they are just in different places and one is easier to reach than the other.
| Location | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Garage wall, where the supply enters | A valve on the pipe, often near the front corner |
| Exterior wall of the house | A valve in a small recess, sometimes behind a cover plate |
| A utility closet or laundry area | Same, on the incoming line |
| Under a sink at the front of the house | Less common, but it happens on older builds |
| The meter box at the street | A valve beside the meter, on the house side |
If your house still has a gate valve on the main, replacing it with a ball valve is a small job with a large payoff. It is the difference between a five-second shut-off and a struggle at midnight.
If the valve is seized, or the only valve you can find is on the street side, call the City of Santa Ana rather than forcing it — (714) 647-3380.
Most leaks do not need the whole house shut down. Every fixture should have its own stop, and using it keeps the rest of the house working.
| Fixture | Where its valve is |
|---|---|
| Toilet | On the wall behind or beside it, on the supply line |
| Sink | Under it, usually two, hot and cold |
| Washing machine | Behind it, at the wall box, two taps |
| Dishwasher | Often under the adjacent sink |
| Water heater | On the cold inlet at the top of the tank |
| Refrigerator ice maker | Behind the fridge, or on the line in a cabinet |
| Hose bib | Its own handle, and sometimes an interior shut-off too |
Fixture stops seize up exactly like main valves do. Turning each one closed and open again once a year keeps them working, and takes about ten minutes for a whole house.
The instinct to test whether it is still leaking is strong and it is usually the wrong instinct.
A house with the water off for a night is an inconvenience. A house with the water on and a leak running into a ceiling for a night is a restoration job.
Worth being explicit, because people conflate the two and the response is completely different.
The full version is on what to do if you smell gas.
We are licensed and insured plumbers, and this site is about leaks, finding the ones you cannot see and repairing them properly. Roughly half of what looks like a plumbing leak turns out not to be one, so the boundary is worth stating plainly.
Roof leaks are a roofer. Water under an air handler is an HVAC technician clearing a condensate drain. Water under an appliance is appliance repair. Drying, restoration and mold are separate trades again, and gas line repair is SoCalGas or a licensed gas fitter. We detect gas leaks, we do not repair gas lines.
The full list, with the trade to call for each, is on what we don’t do.
Twenty minutes, once. It is the highest-return maintenance task in a house and almost nobody does it until after the first flood.
Calls are answered 24/7 and a technician is dispatched 24/7, in English and Spanish. After-hours pricing is given on the call, before anyone is dispatched. Shut the water off first. That does more than anything we can do on the phone.
Shut the water off at the main first. Then call and we will take it from there.
(714) 386-7923Call or text, day or nightSchedule a VisitClockwise to close. On a lever-handled ball valve it is a quarter turn — handle across the pipe means closed. On a round-wheel gate valve it can take many full turns before it seats.
Usually where the supply enters the house: a garage wall, an exterior wall, or a utility area. There is also one in the meter box at the street on the house side of the meter. Either will stop the water.
Do not force it — snapping the stem inside an old gate valve leaves you unable to close it at all. Use the valve at the meter instead, and have the house valve replaced with a ball valve before you need it again.
Sometimes. Some meter valves have a lever; others need a meter key or a wrench. Find out which yours is now and buy the tool if you need one — discovering it at midnight is the wrong time.
If the water is going to be off for more than a short while, yes. Gas to pilot, or the breaker for an electric unit. Heating an empty or partly empty tank damages it.
Often, and it is the better answer when you know which fixture is leaking. Toilets, sinks, washing machines and water heaters all have their own stops, and using one keeps the rest of the house working.
Please do not. It will be, and testing it just puts more water into the building. If you need water, isolate the leaking line rather than repressurising the whole house.
That is the City’s side. Report it to the City of Santa Ana on (714) 647-3380 rather than paying a plumber: the main, the service line to the meter and the meter itself are all theirs.
No, and gas is a different emergency entirely. Leave the building, touch nothing electrical, and call SoCalGas on 1-800-427-2200 from outside. They are answered 24 hours and they come out to gas leaks.
Once a year is plenty, and it takes minutes. Turning each valve fully closed and open again is what stops them seizing, and it is far better to discover a stuck valve on a Sunday afternoon than during an actual leak.