Water Leak Prevention: How to Avoid a Flooded Home

Water Leak

The last thing you want is a flooded house—especially when you’re away and can’t do anything to stop it.

We’ll share how to avoid this frustrating situation, with 3 easy tips to prevent a flooded home:.

  1. Get regular plumbing checks
  2. Know how to shut off the water supply to your fixtures/home
  3. Install a leak detection system

Let’s discuss each of these tips in more detail…

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The easiest way to reduce your chances of a water leak is to have a plumber regularly inspect your home’s plumbing.

Why?

During a plumbing check, a plumber can detect warning signs that your home’s plumbing is at risk of developing a leak.

The most common places to find indoor leaks are in plumbing fixtures (such as a toilet or sink) or supply lines (the pipes that carry water to the fixtures). If a plumber notices you have corroded pipes or broken hardware that could lead to a leak, they can fix it before a leak forms.

Learn more about what we do during a plumbing check by visiting our maintenance plan page.

If you’re at home and you’re faced with a plumbing leak, the first thing you’ll want to do is shut off the water supply to avoid flooding.

You can find the water shut off valves in 2 places:

  1. At the leaking fixture: If you can easily tell which plumbing fixture is leaking, you can shut off the water supply at the fixture itself.
  2. At the main water supply: If you can’t find the exact location of the leak or the leaking fixture does not have a shutoff valve, you’ll want to shut off the main water supply.

Below are instructions on how to turn off each type of shutoff valve.

  • Faucet: A standard sink faucet will have a small valve connected to the water supply pipe. Turn this valve clockwise to stop water from leaking.
  • Toilet: Similar to a sink faucet, a toilet has a small metal valve that you can turn clockwise to cut off the water supply.
  • Water heater: Water heaters have a lever or circular valve that connects to the cold water inlet line. If yours has a lever, pull it 90° from its open position. If you have a circular valve, turn it clockwise until it is closed.
  • Washing machine: Look behind your washing machine and you’ll find a hot and cold water shutoff valve. Turn them both to the off position. Some washing machines have a lever shutoff mechanism. If yours has a lever, pull it down to the off position.

Usually located on an outside wall, you’ll see pipes with a red handle. This is where water enters your home. Turn the handle clockwise to close the valve and cut off the water supply.

Note: After you turn off the water supply valve to stop water from leaking into your home, you’ll need to contact a plumber to repair the leak.

You can manually shut off the water supply when you’re at home. But what happens if there’s a leak and you’re away from home?

That’s where a leak detection system can save the day.

A leak detection system consists of several sensors placed near plumbing fixtures and other leak-prone areas in your home. When one of these sensors detects a leak, they send a signal to a central hub.

Once the hub receives the alert, it activates a controller that shuts off the water supply valve. This saves you the hassle of coming home to a flooded house!

Additionally, most leak detection systems come with WiFi capabilities that send you alerts and allow you to remotely turn off your water main from your smartphone.

Note: We install the LeakSmart Hub 3.0 WiFi Water Alarm. For more information about this leak detector, visit leaksmart.com.


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One of our trustworthy and skilled plumbers can perform a plumbing check or give you a FREE quote on the cost to install a leak detection system in your home.

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