If you have ever done a small repair or replacement job on a plumbing fixture in your Orlando home – say, changing a spent washer or putting a new tap in the kitchen sink – you know that shutting off the water supply can be a bother. It usually requires shutting off the valve at the main water supply, leaving the whole house without water until the job is done.
In addition to the main water shut off valve connected to the water supply line, many newer houses also have individual shut off valves throughout the plumbing system. These valves are attached to the hot and cold water lines of each fixture – sink, tub, shower, washing machine – so that you can turn off the supply to just one or a few at a time, leaving the water supply everywhere else intact. That leaves you free to finish up that repair job without disrupting the rest of the family’s routine, even if you have to run to the hardware store for a part right in the middle of everything.
It’s also good in situations where you need to shut off the water until a repair can be done, like if you have a running toilet.
It’s easy to see if you have individual shut off valves in your home. Just look under the sinks at the supply lines. If you see a little valve attached to each of the two lines – one for cold water, one for hot – those are the individual shut offs. If you don’t have them, it’s probably because your home is a little older, built before these newer valves became standard equipment, or maybe the builder just opted not to include them.
If you do live in a home without individual shut off valves, you can still have them installed pretty quickly and easily. The benefits of being able to do simple repairs without losing water to the whole house make it a worthwhile bit of work to have done, especially if you are doing some remodeling anyway. If you need any more information about plumbing installation or repair, give your local Orlando plumber Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. a call today!