What to do in a plumbing emergency

Shut off your main water valve

1. Look for a valve on the pipe where water enters the house. In Austin homes it's often in the garage, on the outside wall facing the street or in a utility closet.
2. Turn a round handle clockwise until it stops. Turn a lever handle a quarter turn so it sits across the pipe.
3. If you can't find it or it won't move, go to the water meter. It's usually in a concrete or plastic box near the curb marked “Water.”
4. Lift the lid. The valve on the house side of the meter has a flat tab. Turn it a quarter turn with a meter key or adjustable wrench so the tab runs across the pipe.
5. Open a faucet at the lowest point in the house to drain the water left in the pipes.

Good to know: Find your shutoff today, before you need it. Tie a tag on it so everyone in the house knows where it is.

If your water heater is leaking

1. Turn off the power. For an electric heater, flip its breaker off. For gas, turn the control knob to Off or Pilot.
2. Close the cold water valve on the pipe going into the top of the tank.
3. If water is coming from the pipe on the side of the tank, that's the relief valve. Don't cap or plug it. It's releasing pressure for a reason.
4. Keep kids and pets away. The water can be scalding hot.

If a toilet is overflowing

1. Lift the tank lid and push the rubber flapper at the bottom of the tank closed.
2. Turn the small valve on the wall behind the toilet clockwise to shut off its water.
3. Don't flush again until the clog is cleared. Try a flange plunger with slow, firm pushes.
4. If other drains back up too, stop using water in the whole house. That points to a main line clog.

If sewage is backing up

1. Stop using water everywhere in the house. Every flush or load of laundry adds to the backup.
2. Keep everyone out of the area. Sewage carries bacteria.
3. If you have an outdoor cleanout, a capped pipe near the foundation, don't open it when the line is full. It's under pressure.
4. Call us at (512) 555-0100. A sewer backup is an emergency at any hour.

Before a hard freeze

1. Disconnect garden hoses and put foam covers on outdoor faucets.
2. Open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls so warm air reaches the pipes.
3. Let a pencil-thin stream of water run from the faucet farthest from the meter.
4. Know where your main shutoff is. If a pipe bursts when it thaws, you'll need it fast.

Good to know: The February 2021 storm taught a lot of Austin homeowners these steps the hard way. Pipes in attics and outside walls are the most likely to split.