Let’s imagine for a second. You’ve got a plumbing emergency or a water leak going on at your home. Do you know how to turn off your water mains? This is a super useful thing to know as a property owner, as the water pipes are on you.

Sure, you can call a local plumber (we recommend it, of course!), but you’re gonna want to turn the water off til you can give us a bell. If you’ve got a burst pipe or a leak pops out of nowhere, you’ll want to minimise the mess ASAP. It can also be useful to shut off your water supply if you’re heading away to reduce the risk of returning to a water emergency (or hearing about it from the neighbours when you’re elsewhere!).

Find your water toby

Who’s Toby? A toby is the main water valve that supplies your home. Most of the time, leaks are close to the connection to the toby box or where the main line enters the house. We always ask people to look closely around those two areas before we enlist our leak detection team, so it’s a good time saver to know where it is. Find it ahead of time so you aren’t rushing around in a panic if the plumbing needs some urgent attention! Check for a lid around the front of your home or near the property boundary – your water shut-off valve should be in there. To test if that’s the right one, you can turn it off then run a tap inside. If the water stops after a few seconds, you’ve got it! Go turn it back on and go about your merry way knowing you’re well prepared in case of a plumbing emergency.

Isolation valve

If something happens inside, you may also have an isolation valve that lets you turn off the water at one point of the house, while it continues to flow freely in other spots. These will usually be behind the toilet or under the sink. Check if it requires a screwdriver or it’s a hand-operated valve – it’s good to know and have the tools you need handy just in case.

Check out some handy guides for finding your water meter/valves and checking for leaks at Watercare and Master Plumbers.

Give us a call for all your plumbing needs. Our plumbing team are based in East Auckland, servicing the Auckland region.