Where is my stop tap, and how do I turn it off?
Your internal stop tap is usually under the kitchen sink. If it is not there, look where the water supply enters the property: a downstairs toilet, utility room, garage, under the stairs, or in a cupboard by the front door in a flat. Turn it clockwise to close. If it is a lever valve, turn it a quarter turn so the handle sits across the pipe.
Key facts
- Most common location
- Under the kitchen sink
- Which way to turn
- Clockwise to close; a lever valve a quarter turn
- Check it's off
- Open the cold kitchen tap
- Loft tank homes
- Hot taps keep running until the tank empties
- Maintenance
- Turn it off and on once or twice a year
How to turn off your water
- 1Find the stop tapCheck under the kitchen sink first, then where the supply enters the property.
- 2Turn it clockwiseTurn until it stops, firmly but without force. Turn a lever valve a quarter turn.
- 3Open the cold kitchen tapConfirm the water has stopped and drain the pipework.
- 4Deal with the loft tankIf you have a cold water tank, close its outlet valve or open taps to drain it.
- 5Call a plumberIf the water will not stop, or the stop tap will not move, call 020 8798 2063.
Where stop taps are usually found
Start under the kitchen sink. If it is not there, follow the cold supply back towards where it enters the building:
- • Under the kitchen sink, often behind the bottles at the back of the cupboard.
- • In a downstairs toilet, cloakroom or utility room.
- • Under the stairs, in the garage or in a cellar.
- • In older houses, sometimes in the airing cupboard or under a floorboard near the front door.
- • In flats, in a cupboard by the front door, in the bathroom, or in a communal cupboard or riser outside the flat.
How to turn it off
Turn a traditional round-handled stop tap clockwise until it stops — firmly, not violently. A lever valve needs a quarter turn so the handle sits across the pipe. Then open the cold kitchen tap to check the supply has stopped and to drain the pipework.
If the tap is stiff, do not force it with a wrench or a length of pipe: old stop taps snap. Steady pressure in both directions often frees it. If it will not move, call a plumber.
Why water may still be running
Homes with a cold water tank in the loft keep supplying hot taps, and sometimes some cold taps, after the mains stop tap is shut. Close the valve on the pipe leaving the tank if you can reach it safely, or open the taps to drain the system more quickly.
In terraces and some flats, the supply may be shared, so your stop tap may not stop a leak in another property, and closing it may affect a neighbour.
The outside stop valve
There is usually another valve under a small cover near your boundary, in the pavement or front path. It is often the water company's, normally needs a long key, and may serve more than one property. Use the inside stop tap wherever possible.
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