Save Hundreds Of Dollars With This Simple 30-Second Plumbing Hack

Before delving into valve maintenance, some background on how sanitary valves work is helpful. As Atlas Home Services explains, water from your local community’s water supply enters your home through a series of underground pipes, typically from city pipes under the middle of your street to a water main that runs into your home. A main shut-off valve connects this pipe to your house, usually in your basement (if you have one) or further down along one of the outside walls of your house.

From there, water from your home’s mains flows into branch lines that branch off and carry it to your home’s water-using appliances. This includes the water heater, sinks in your bathroom and kitchen, your dishwasher, toilets, showers and bathtubs, the washing machine, etc.

Each of these auxiliary pipes also usually have their own smaller shut-off valves, usually located under the appliance itself (like in the cabinet under your kitchen sink). These valves come in very handy when you are doing a bathroom renovation or lengthy plumbing work in your kitchen as you can shut off a room or even a specific appliance instead of turning off the main valve and stopping the flow of water to your entire home. That way, water doesn’t splash out of your sink while you’re trying to change your faucet, but you can still run your washing machine in the garage.

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