Which automatic water shutoff valve should I buy to prevent leaks?
Choosing an automatic water shutoff valve is difficult because main shutoff valves are often hard to find, correctly identify, or safely turn off by hand during a trip or emergency. A reliable shut-off system prevents costly water disasters and provides peace of mind without the hassle or risk of manually turning valves at the street or meter.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1manually shutting off the water main when travelingDid this help you?
- 2Using the interior shutoff valve located inside the home or garage, which is designated for homeowner use.Did this help you?
- 3Calling the local water provider and requesting they send a technician to shut the water off at the street.Did this help you?
- 4Taking a picture of the water meter and returning 30 to 60 minutes later to detect very slow leaks rather than relying on a quick visual check.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“On vacation, I been shutting the water off at the house, the main house shutoff valve in the garage. Could/should I do it at the street instead? I If yes, it is this knob in the red correct?”source ↗
“I'm getting this towards having a piece of mind, as I've already dealt with couple of water disasters and just want to minimize the probability of a new one.”source ↗
“Any thoughts between those two?”source ↗
“My water meter looked the same. I had a leak and turned that off because I thought it was my shutoff. But mine was actually buried in the hard dirt just beyond that shutoff.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 13Old water shut off valve won't turn off
- 3How do you switch a shower to the overhead head?
- 16How do I find my main water shutoff valve in an emergency?
- 4How to turn off main water valve at the street safely
- 2Should I remove an old mixing valve during a renovation?
- 5Can I blow out my own irrigation system?