Kearns Emergency PlumbingBefore you need it
Turn your water off in thirty seconds
Where the stop tap usually is in your kind of home, how to turn it, what to do if it won't move, and whose pipe a leak is on.
Find your stop tap now, before you need it
It's the tap that turns off all the water in your home. Thirty seconds finding it today could save a ceiling tonight.
Where it usually is
- Under the kitchen sink, at the back of the cupboard
- Where the water pipe comes in, often a downstairs toilet, the garage or under the stairs
In older terraces it can be under the floorboards just inside the front door.
Where it usually is
- On the cellar wall at the front of the house, near the meter
- On the pipe where it comes through the front wall
Where it usually is
- In the kitchen, the airing cupboard or a cupboard by the front door
- In some blocks it's in a cupboard in the corridor. Ask your landlord or managing agent where.
If you rent, your landlord should be able to tell you where it is. Ask today.
Where it usually is
- Under the kitchen sink or in the utility room
- Often a lever rather than a tap
A lever is off when it's turned across the pipe.
How to turn it off
- Turn it clockwise, as far as it will go.
- If it's a lever, turn it a quarter, so it sits across the pipe.
- Open a cold tap to check. It should slow to nothing within a minute.
If it won't move, don't force it with pliers. An old stop tap can snap. Call us and we'll talk you through the outside one.
Stuck? Call us0115 496 0247
The stop tap outside
There's another one under a small cover in the pavement or your front path, often marked W. It belongs to the water company and needs a long key, so if yours inside won't turn, ring us and we'll turn the outside one off when we arrive.
Whose pipe is it?
Who fixes a leak, and who pays for it, depends on where the pipe is.
The water main Severn Trent's
The big pipe under the road. Water coming up through the road or the pavement is theirs to fix, so ring their leak line.
Up to your boundary Severn Trent's
The short pipe from the main to the stop tap or meter outside, usually at the edge of your property.
From the boundary to the house Yours
The pipe under your garden or drive. It's yours to look after, even where it runs under someone else's land, and some home insurance covers it.
Inside your home Yours
Every pipe, tap and appliance inside. That's what we fix, day or night.
In some streets several houses share one supply pipe, and a leak on it is shared between you. Low pressure when the neighbours run a bath is often the sign.
Severn Trent, for leaks in the road or on their pipes, free, 24 hours: 0800 783 4444 · report a leak online
Questions
Water and stop taps
Where's my stop tap?
Usually under the kitchen sink, or where the water pipe comes into the house. Our stop tap page shows where to look in your kind of home.
Whose job is a leak in the street?
Water coming up through the road or the pavement is the water company's to fix. Their leak line is on our stop tap page.
My pipes are frozen. What do I do?
Keep the tap they feed open and warm the pipe gently with a hairdryer, never a flame. Be ready to turn the stop tap off when it thaws, in case it has split.
Water where it shouldn't be? Call now.
A plumber answers, day or night, and tells you the price for the hour before we set off.
On call now. A plumber answers, day or night.