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How to find my stop valve by Martin Smith Smith. Check your Stop Valve

Make sure you know where your stop valve is located and in working order - How to find my stop valve can be a very frightening thing when in an Emergency situation and while waiting for the Emergency Plumber In most cases you will find the Stop Valve underneath the sink or in the garage.

Stop Valve Location

Under the Sink - The first place you look while trying to find the Stop Valve, is just under the sink where you will find a brass looking Valve. Then you need to turn this clockwise to turn off. Sometimes the Stop Valve is found to be very stiff when turning off so you may need some grips to add extra pressure while turning off.

In the Garage - in most cases when finding the Stop Valve in the garage, you should see the brass looking Stop Valve coming out of the ground about half a meter up the wall, then going directly up through the ceiling of the garage.

Behind the Washing Machine - Sometimes you may find the Stop Valve behind your washing machine, whether it is in the utility room or located in the kitchen.

Living room - In the living room, especially in some council houses, you may find your Stop Valve located either built in a box or for example like in the picture above.

Under the stairs - It's unusual to find the Stop Valve under the stairs, but in council houses this is a popular location when you have 2 cupboards where the Water Mains Pipe runs just below the concrete under the living room floor, then up through the cupboard as found out by our Plumber Chester.

Bathrooms - Sometimes you will find the stop valve behind the toilet, especially when it comes to flats.

Other places - Other places you may find a stop valve is when you have house alterations, and quite commonly the stop valve gets hidden. So please keep in mind when you cannot find your Stop Valve as it may be hidden behind kitchen units, or near by. So the only way to try to locate this, is to follow the pipe work around the house on the ground floor, as Stop Valves are never above unless you live in a flat.

Out side - If you cant find your Stop Valve, you may need to locate the one outside, which in Martin Smith Smith's experience, 1 in 3 Stop Valves you will not be able to turn off either due to the Stop Valve entry being full of soil. (Please do not attempt to clear as this is the property of the Water Boards and is also dangerous as unforeseen items can be in there). If you have a stuck, broken or you are unable to locate your Stop Valve due to being buried over, you must contact your local Water Board to ensure they attend to your Stop Valve, to ensure its in full working order, and ready for in the future should you require a Plumber.