Parents Should Teach Their Kids How to Turn Off Water Valves
June 22, 2009
We all hope that disasterous things will never happen to us our, family or our home. As a reality, disasters are sometimes unpreventable, but the damage can be minimal if you know what to do in the situation. In the upcoming weeks we will be posting safety & prevention tips on our website, radio and newspapers to help homeowners know what they can do to be safe & prevent further damage to their home.
When my husband and I bought our first home, we were excited to move into a brand new home. During the walk through, I started envisioning how I would decorate and where I would put the couch, TV and the rest of our furniture. When I came back to reality, I realized that this was our chance to get to know as much about the house as we could, because this was going to be ours & we would be responsible for maintaining the home. I was very grateful that the seller made it a point to show us where all the main valves were and any other pertinent information that would be helpful if something went wrong. As it turns out, we had to use this helpful information the first day we moved into the home. My husband had turned on our dishwasher, but there was no water running to the dishwasher. He went under the sink where the seller had showed us the water valves were and found two water lines, one that went to the dishwasher & one that was for a refrigerators automatic water dispenser. When he turned on the valve, he heard water running somewhere, but not to the dishwasher. Shortly after he found the source of the water- he had accidentally turned on the water dispenser line that had not been hooked up to the refrigerator and was now spraying water behind our refrigerator! He quickly turned off the water valve and we were able to prevent any serious damage from happening.
The ARS safety tip today is that homeowners and parents should acquaint themselves and anyone that lives in the home, where the toilets, sinks & main water shut-off valves are in the home. Most water valves are easy to find- under the sink, in the laundry room, behind the toilet, in the garage or next to the water meter, but some homes may be a little more difficult. Somes valves may have handles that you have to turn right or left for on & off, and some may be levers. Whatever your case may be, learn where the valve is and how to turn it off properly. If you are unaware of how the valves in your particular home turn off, most plumbers and contractors such as ARS can help. When a parent acquaints themselves and their children what to do when water is spraying all over or a leak is found, a lot of damage to the home can be prevented.
