J u l e e
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,531
Location: Cincinnati
Jun 28, 2014 2:50:47 GMT
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Post by J u l e e on Sept 18, 2022 13:22:14 GMT
Did you know you were supposed to open and close all the water shut off valves in your house at least twice a year?
I learned this yesterday after not being able to budge one of the valves in order to replace a faucet in a bathroom. Not even penetrating oil would get it to budge. I am sure rotating all the valves has never been done in this house. We lived 18 years in our old house and never rotated a valve ever. But it would be a huge flooding issue if you needed to shut off the water supply and found that your valves are stuck.
Also, some of the water supply lines to sinks and toilets in this house have the knob shut off and some have the little button shut off - where you just pull the round stopper thing and the water shuts off and you push it back in to turn the water supply back on. I think I want to replace all of them to the push and pull button kind. So much easier and no knobs that won't turn.
What do you have in your house?
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iowgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,295 
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Post by iowgirl on Sept 18, 2022 13:51:58 GMT
I have quite a few shutoffs.
My house was built in the late 1920's, and much has been changed over the years. When we moved in about 30 years ago, we had new toilets and faucets put in. With that we had shutoffs put in. They are the knob type, and I am good with those.
I had shut offs for my washing machine put it and that is the lever type. My main shut off is a lever type now too. I like those the best.
I probably shut mine off once a year, just due to things needing repairs. When the plumber comes, I go down and pull the lever for the main coming in the house to shut it off and open taps to drain everything.
I need to get new faucets put on, on the outside of my house. What I have leaks so bad when I have my garden hose on. I just never think of it when I have a plumber coming.
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Post by mikklynn on Sept 18, 2022 14:12:36 GMT
When you replace valves in your plumbing, be sure to ask for 1/4 turn ball valves. They have a lever, not a round handle. They are much easier to operate. Most plumbers will do that, but it doesn't hurt to make sure.
In my previous life, my nickname was the valve goddess. I managed the procurement of major supplies in the industrial construction business and valves were one of my areas of expertise. I bought everything from 72" diameter water intake valves for a power plant to 1/4" pneumatic valves for instrumentation.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,455
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Sept 18, 2022 14:18:20 GMT
The shut-off for our entire house was under our front porch so when DH decided to rip out our porch floor and redo it (even though only one board needed to be replaced...) the new porch has a trap door to access the shut-off. Yay!
We're replaced all the toilets and two bathroom sinks in this house recently, so most of the shut-offs have been used. I'm going to have to go check the other ones, thanks for the reminder.
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Post by malibou on Sept 18, 2022 15:16:14 GMT
I will add this to our list of routine house maintenance. I'm sure it's been years since we touched any water shut off valves.
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Post by femalebusiness on Sept 18, 2022 16:15:36 GMT
Most important is to know where the shut off valve for the entire house is. I actually had neighbors who didn't know that.
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Post by chaosisapony on Sept 18, 2022 16:31:48 GMT
Thanks for the reminder. I had a water heater leak last year and using all of my strength I could not make the shut off budge. The plumber barely managed it and he thought it was going to break.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,263
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Sept 18, 2022 22:09:27 GMT
I have to say I hadn’t really thought about this, and couldn’t tell you if/when they were last touched - except that I had new flooring installed two years ago, so all the toilets and the washing machine were all pulled out for that. So obviously water was shut off, as well as for replacing the kitchen and master bath sinks and faucets and other things. That makes me feel a little better.
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Post by lisae on Sept 19, 2022 1:30:05 GMT
We had a leak in the laundry room over Labor Day. We had to shut off the water and DH had to get into the crawl space to cap the pipe. I'm planning to have shut off's added for the pipes that go into that crawl space. It was really hard on him physically to access that space. Most of the house has a basement but there is a sink and the washer that get water via pipes in the crawl space. Thanks mikklynn for the suggestion on the type. |
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Post by deafpea on Oct 7, 2022 12:57:13 GMT
Resurrecting an older thread with a few questions. My fall break is coming up next week and I'm making my list of home maintenance tasks.
What are the water sources in a house? I'm going to make a list of all the places water comes in so I can teach my boys how to turn off water in case of an emergency. And yes, I'm going to test them all. I've got the sprinkler shutoff at the street and at the house, shutoffs for each sink and toilet, the washing machine, the water heater, the main house shutoff. Any other places I've overlooked?
I'm assuming the only way to shut off water to a shower is the main house shutoff since the plumbing is behind walls. LOL.
What are the round pieces that cover the rough plumbing from the wall called? Escutcheon? Mine are pretty badly rusted/pitted so I want to replace them.
Thanks!
Merilee
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Post by crazy4scraps on Oct 7, 2022 13:18:32 GMT
Resurrecting an older thread with a few questions. My fall break is coming up next week and I'm making my list of home maintenance tasks. What are the water sources in a house? I'm going to make a list of all the places water comes in so I can teach my boys how to turn off water in case of an emergency. And yes, I'm going to test them all. I've got the sprinkler shutoff at the street and at the house, shutoffs for each sink and toilet, the washing machine, the water heater, the main house shutoff. Any other places I've overlooked? I'm assuming the only way to shut off water to a shower is the main house shutoff since the plumbing is behind walls. LOL. What are the round pieces that cover the rough plumbing from the wall called? Escutcheon? Mine are pretty badly rusted/pitted so I want to replace them. Thanks! Merilee Outdoor lawn faucets. We live where winter happens and if you don’t have frost free lawn faucets here, you should. |
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Post by hmp on Oct 7, 2022 15:30:54 GMT
The things I learn here! I will be adding this to my home maintenance list. I had no idea. I wish there was a community Ed class I could take to learn these things. I don’t know where I’d be without the peas!
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