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Every owner should be able to find and operate five shutoffs without looking anything up: the main water valve, the individual fixture stops, the water heater's own valves, the gas valve at the meter, and the main breaker in the electrical panel. Those five cover almost every home emergency that involves water, gas, or electricity. Finding them takes an afternoon; using one in an emergency takes seconds, but only if you already know where it is.
Walk the house with this list once, label what you find, and photograph each location.
Which five shutoffs should you know?
The five shutoffs are the main water valve where the supply enters the house, the small stops under sinks and behind toilets and appliances, the cold inlet and the gas valve or breaker on the water heater, the gas valve at the meter, and the main breaker at the top of the electrical panel. Each stops a different kind of trouble, and each lives in a predictable place once you know what to look for.
| Shutoff | Where it usually is | How it turns | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main water valve | Where the supply pipe enters: basement wall, crawl space, garage, utility closet, or a box near the street | Lever: quarter turn. Wheel: clockwise, several turns | A pipe bursts, a fixture floods, or you leave for weeks |
| Fixture stops | Under each sink, behind each toilet, behind the washer, under the dishwasher, behind the refrigerator | Small oval or lever handle, clockwise or quarter turn | One fixture leaks and the rest of the house can stay on |
| Water heater | Cold inlet valve on top of the tank; gas control on the front or the breaker in the panel | Inlet: lever or wheel. Gas: dial to off. Electric: breaker | The tank leaks, or you shut the water off for a long absence |
| Gas meter valve | At the meter, outside or in a utility area, a rectangular tab on the pipe | Quarter turn with a wrench so the tab is across the pipe | You smell gas, or after an earthquake, then leave |
| Main breaker | Top of the electrical panel, a larger double breaker | Switch to off | Water is near electrical equipment, or an electrician asks you to |
Where is the main water shutoff?
The main water shutoff is on the supply pipe at the point where it enters the house: on the foundation wall in a basement, in a crawl space near the front, in the garage, in a utility closet, or, in warm climates, in a box in the yard near the meter. There is also a valve at the meter itself that the utility owns, which is the backup if the house valve fails.
Finding and using the main water shutoff walks the search in order and covers the meter valve and the curb stop. Once you have it, close it and open a faucet: the water should slow to a trickle and stop. If it does not, the valve is not fully closing and needs a plumber before you need it in an emergency. In the first hour after a pipe bursts, this valve is step one, and the whole hour goes better if step one takes ten seconds.
Which fixture stops and water heater valves matter?
The fixture stops matter because they let you stop one leak without shutting down the whole house: the two small valves under each sink, the one behind each toilet, the pair behind the washing machine, the one feeding the dishwasher, and the refrigerator's ice maker line. The water heater has its own cold inlet valve on top, plus a gas control dial on the front of a gas unit or a dedicated breaker for an electric one.
Turn each stop when you are cleaning under the sink and confirm the faucet goes dry; a stop that has not moved in years can seize or leak at the stem when it finally does. Close the washer's stops before a vacation, because a washer hose is a pressurized line with nobody watching it. On the water heater, the cold inlet stops water into the tank and is the first move if the tank itself weeps; the gas dial or the breaker is the second, because a burner or element running on an emptying tank does damage. The water heater flush guide shows both valves in use.
When should you turn off the gas?
Turn off the gas only in a real emergency: a gas smell you cannot trace to a burner left on, a hissing sound at the meter or an appliance, or after an earthquake if you smell or hear gas. The valve is at the meter, a rectangular tab on the pipe that turns a quarter turn with a wrench so the tab sits across the pipe. Then leave. Do not turn it back on yourself; the gas company or a licensed plumber relights the pilots and checks for leaks.
Each gas appliance also has a small lever valve on its supply line. Those are for a technician replacing the unit; in an emergency, the meter valve and the door are the two moves.
When should you turn off the electricity?
Turn off the electricity at the main breaker when water is reaching electrical equipment, when the house is flooding, or when an electrician or the utility asks you to; otherwise use the individual breaker for the circuit involved. The main breaker is the larger double breaker at the top of the panel. Switching it off cuts every circuit in the house; the lines feeding it stay live, so it does not make the panel safe to open.
Ready.gov's flood page says not to touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if you are standing in water, and to turn off the electricity if it is safe to do so. That order matters: if the panel is in a wet basement, the safe move is the utility's disconnect, not wading to the panel. For everything smaller than a flood, resetting a tripped breaker covers the individual breakers, what a half-tripped one looks like, and what in the panel you never touch. The outdoor air conditioner has its own disconnect box on the wall beside it, and a furnace usually has a light-switch-style cutoff nearby; both are worth a label.
How should you record the shutoffs?
Record each shutoff with a photo of the valve in its surroundings, a one-line location ("garage, left wall behind the water softener"), the direction and number of turns to close it, and the date you last tested it. Put the same information on a card that lives in the house, because the person who needs it may be a house sitter or a contractor with no login to anything.
For each shutoff, record
- A photo that shows the valve and something recognizable around it
- The location in one line a stranger could follow
- Lever or wheel, and which way is off
- The date you last closed and reopened it, and whether it fully stopped the flow
- For gas: where the wrench is kept
In Property Station these live on the Shutoffs & Key Locations page under My Home, so the photos and locations sit with the rest of the home record rather than in a camera roll. The features page shows the record alongside the Document Vault, where the plumber's invoice for a replaced valve belongs.
For a resale home, this walk belongs in the first 90 days, and the main valve test belongs in the monthly walkthrough once or twice a year. In a condo, what is yours and what is the association's includes which shutoffs you are allowed to touch.
Common questions
Which way do I turn a shutoff valve?
A lever handle turns a quarter turn so the handle sits across the pipe when closed and along the pipe when open. A round wheel handle turns clockwise to close, usually several full turns, and it should be snug, not forced. If a wheel handle will not budge, do not put a wrench on it; use the curb stop or the meter valve and call a plumber to replace the stuck valve.
Should I turn off the gas myself?
Only if you smell gas or after an earthquake, and only at the meter with a wrench, then leave the house. Do not turn it back on yourself; the gas company or a licensed plumber relights the appliances and checks for leaks. If you smell gas inside, the NFPA's advice is to leave immediately and call the fire department or the gas company from outside.
What if I live in a condo or an apartment?
You usually have a unit shutoff for water, often in a closet, behind an access panel, or at the water heater, and your own breaker panel. The gas meter and the building main are the association's or the landlord's. Find the unit shutoffs on day one and ask the manager where the building shutoffs are and who is allowed to touch them.
How often should I test the shutoffs?
Turn the main water valve closed and open again once or twice a year so it does not seize, and confirm the water actually stops. Fixture stops get the same treatment when you clean under the sink. Leave the gas valve alone unless there is an emergency, and leave the main breaker alone unless you are cutting power to the house for a reason.
What should you do next?
Find the main water valve today and close it once with a faucet running to prove it works. Then photograph the other four, tag them, and put the card under the kitchen sink. It is an hour, and it is the hour that makes every plumbing emergency a small one.