Knowing which way to turn a shut-off valve to stop a sudden plumbing leak is imperative. Hesitation will only make a leak worse and cause more water damage throughout your home if you can’t close the water off quickly! Do you know which way a shut-off valve turns to open and close? If you don’t here are instructions on opening and closing a shut-off valve properly.
Think of a clock
If you ever have to shut off the water or gas off in your home, always remember that a shut-off valve closes clockwise and opens counter-clockwise. Older shut off valves may need a little muscle to turn. If you think you have old shut-off valves for your plumbing fixtures and pipes in the basement, a visual inspection check won’t hurt.
Inspecting the shut-off valve
To find out if you have workable shut-off valves begin by doing the following:
- inspect every plumbing fixture for shut-off valves
- locate shut-off valves in your basement
Slowly turn each shut-off valve avoiding forcing any of them that don’t move. If you forcibly turn an old valve stem, you could break it and create a catastrophe. Start a replacement list of all the valves that don’t move.
Make sure any valves that move shut off tight by checking all of the plumbing fixtures to see if the water stops flowing into them. Add all of the valves that leak through to your replacement list and have them all replaced as soon as possible before its too late!
Do you need shut off valves replaced?
Having bad shut off valves and not knowing it would make unexpected plumbing problems a lot worse if you can’t stop the water from leaking.
If you’d rather have a professional plumber check your shut off valves, click here to schedule an inspection with Vince a Pittsburgh plumber you can trust!
