Knowing your water, electricity and gas shut-offs

The water pipe usually enters the building at one point, often in the basement or a utility room. That is typically where you find the water meter with a shut-off valve before or after it. If you close this valve, no fresh water flows in – a burst pipe then only drains what is already in it instead of being fed more and more water. Flats often have extra valves too, for example under the washbasin, at the toilet cistern or on a riser in the bathroom.

Electricity is split in the breaker panel (also called the consumer unit or distribution board) into individual circuits: kitchen, bathroom, rooms. Each circuit has its own circuit breaker. Many installations also have a residual-current device, which switches off very quickly with certain faults, and sometimes a main switch for the whole home. These switches are designed to be operated by occupants – opening the cover or working on cables is not.

Gas also has a main shut-off, usually where the pipe enters the building, and often further valves in front of individual appliances. Who should operate them and when is set by the utility and the authorities; this differs by country. What matters for you as an occupant: if you smell gas, you operate nothing and get yourself to safety.

The most important part happens beforehand, in a calm moment. Take a torch and look for the main water valve and the breaker panel – and if there is gas in the building, ask the landlord, building management or utility where the gas shut-off is. Label what you find clearly. A note saying “Main water valve – turn clockwise to close” can save a lot of time in an emergency.

Most turning valves close clockwise. With lever valves, a lever across the pipe usually means “closed” and a lever in line with the pipe means “open”. Check this on your own valve by closing and reopening it once deliberately. If it is stiff or drips afterwards: do not keep turning with force or an extension bar – tell the landlord or a professional. A broken valve is worse than a stiff one.

Also check whether the circuits in the breaker panel are labelled. If not, you can work out together with a second person which switch supplies which room: switch off, see which light goes out, switch back on, write it down. Keep access to all shut-offs clear – boxes and shelves in front of them cost valuable minutes in an emergency.

A smell of gas is an emergency. Mains gas only smells because an odorant is added so that leaks are noticed. If you smell it: do not operate any switches (not even to turn them off), no doorbell, no phone or mobile inside the building, no flame. Leave doors open, warn everyone, go outside and call the gas emergency service or the local emergency number (112 in the EU) from there. Do not look for the leak yourself.

Once gas has been shut off, you do not turn it back on yourself. Appliances without a lit flame could then release gas; restoring the supply belongs to the utility or a qualified professional. The same care applies to electricity: only operate the breaker panel if you are standing on dry ground and can reach it safely. If water is near sockets, appliances or the panel, do not enter the room – call the utility or the fire service.

If a breaker keeps tripping, that is a sign of a fault. Do not keep switching it back on; unplug the appliances on that circuit and call a qualified electrician. Any work behind covers, on cables, sockets or gas pipes is off-limits for laypeople – exactly where the legal line runs differs from country to country, so check local rules.

Burst pipe: water sprays from a pipe or runs from the ceiling. First check whether water is reaching electrics – if so, do not go in. Otherwise close the nearest valve first and, if that is not enough, the main water valve. Then call the landlord or a plumber and take photos for the insurer.

Frost: in hard frost, pipes in unheated rooms can freeze because water expands when it freezes. If you are away for a long time or have an outdoor tap, you can have that branch shut off and drained. A burst pipe often only shows when it thaws – that is when it pays to find the valve straight away.

Flood warning or storm: authorities sometimes advise whether and when to switch off electricity or other supplies before water enters the building. Follow these announcements. If the water is already there, the rule applies again: do not enter flooded rooms with electrics. In apartment buildings, main shut-offs are often in rooms only the caretaker has a key to – find out in advance whom you can reach in an emergency.

Take a short tour with everyone in the household: here is the main water valve, this is how it turns. Here is the breaker panel, this switch belongs to the kitchen. And here – if there is one – is the gas shut-off, which we do not touch; if we smell gas, we go outside. Older children understand this well and are often proud to explain it.

Write the phone numbers of the gas emergency service, water utility, electricity network operator and landlord into your emergency plan and hang a copy near the breaker panel. Keep a torch within reach there too, because basements are often dark – and even more so during a power cut.

Repeat the tour about once a year or when someone new moves in. Check that the labels are still readable and the access is clear. That way the knowledge becomes a habit you can call on in an emergency without long thought.