The 2-minute emergency shut-off guide.
When water is pouring through a light fitting, that is not the moment to learn where your stop valve is. Read this once, walk it through once, and you’ll know exactly what to do in the first two minutes of any plumbing emergency — before we’ve even picked up the phone.
Find your main water shut-off — before you need it
For most North-West homes it’s at the water meter near the front boundary, in a plastic or concrete pit at ground level. Some homes have a second stop valve where the water line enters the house. Find yours this week and make sure everyone in the house knows it.
Turning it off: righty-tighty, firmly but gently
Turn the valve or tap clockwise until it stops. Don’t force a seized valve with tools — if it won’t turn by hand, it needs replacing (tell us, that’s a small job). Once it’s off, open a tap inside to drain pressure from the pipes.
Toilet flooding? There’s a closer valve
Look for the small chrome isolation tap on the wall behind or beside the toilet and turn it clockwise. Same for sinks — the isolation valves are on the flexi hoses in the cupboard underneath. You can stop most fixture floods without shutting off the whole house.
Hot water system leaking? Two switches
First, turn off the cold water isolation valve on the pipe feeding the cylinder. Then cut its energy: flick the hot water breaker in your switchboard (electric) or turn the gas isolation valve a quarter-turn so it sits across the pipe (gas). Never open or dismantle the unit itself.
Smell gas? Different rules
Turn the gas off at the meter or bottle if it’s safe to reach, open doors and windows, don’t flick switches or light anything, and get everyone outside. Then call us — and if the smell is strong or you’re unsure, call Tas Gas emergency and stay out.
Water near power? Treat it as electrical first
If water is anywhere near the switchboard, light fittings or power points, turn off the power at the main switch if the board is dry and safe to touch. Water and electricity get the final say — when in doubt, stay clear and wait.
Then call us — with the water already off, you’ve won
Once the water’s off, the emergency is over; what’s left is a repair. Call (03) 6431 6992 and tell us what you saw. A photo helps. We give urgent jobs same-day priority right along the coast.
The tag trick — do this today
Grab a cable tie and a bit of card. Write “WATER MAIN” and tie it to your stop valve. Do the same at the hot water isolation valve. In an emergency, nobody remembers instructions — but everyone can follow a tag.
The two-minute family drill
Tonight, walk everyone in the house to the meter and have each person actually turn the valve off and on once. It feels silly right up until the day it saves your floors, your walls and your photo albums.
Want your shut-offs checked and tagged?
Every Plumbing Health Check includes locating and testing your shut-off valves — and we’ll show you how each one works while we’re there. That knowledge is yours to keep.
Book a Plumbing Health Check Emergency right now? Call(03) 6431 6992