Would you know what to do if you had a gas leak?
In less than two minutes John from Fox Plumbing and Heating will show you how to safely shut your gas of at the meter.
Check out the video and you’ll have piece of mind that you can protect your family and home in an emergency.

Transcript:

Hi I’m John with Fox Plumbing and Heating

Today I’m going to go over ways to shut off your gas in case of a gas leak

or if you smell gas in your home

Quite typically your gas meter is going to be on the side of the house

this time it happens to be on the front of the house

So you are going to want to find your gas meter

which is a good thing to know before you have a leak of course

Typically the valve is on the first fitting coming out of the ground.

So if you come up here, there it is right there. (pointing to valve)

Its a ball valve style

so when it is inline with the pipe

that means it is in the on position.

When you want to turn it off grab any old wrench

I’m using a crescent wrench today

Turn it to where the slot is perpendicular

most are going to have a set of wholes for lock outs.

So when it is in the perpendicular that’s off

To turn it back on you turn it back in the opposite direction.

So it is in line with the pipe.

So now if you ever have to turn your gas of because of a gas leak.

You are going to want to call a professional to come take a look at it.

You don’t want to turn the gas back on

You’ll want to have a professional come take a look at it.

Know once you have turned it off and had someone to come take a look at it
you are going to want to re-light all your pilot lights.

So we will show you how to relight a pilot light (next video / blog post)

When a plumbing problem arises in your home and is confined to one of your plumbing fixtures then it’s handy to know who to shut off the water supply to that one fixture rather than the whole house.

Fox Plumbing and Heating’s Team member John will walk you through how to shut off various types of fixtures and how to identify which one to turn off.

Transcript :

Seattle Plumber: Hi I’m John with Fox Plumbing,

Today I’m going to show you a couple different ways to turn your water off.

We’ll start out here in the bathroom.

If you ever need to work on your faucet or toilet, do any kind of repairs to them.

You’ll need to turn your water of to them.

You’d quite typically come underneath

You should have shut off valves.

These are ball valve style.

So quarter turn.

So this is the cold side here.

So you turn them a quarter turn to the right.

And that’s off.

Same with the hot.

We can turn that off.

And since the toilet is really close here.

You’ll always have one (a valve) on the left side of the toilet.

Do the same thing.

Just turn it a quarter turn.

That’s a ball valve so if you ever forget which way is on or off.

When ever its inline with the pipe, its on.

When its perpendicular to the pipe that’s off.

And then,

To turn them back on.

You just turn them a quarter turn in the other direction.

Now that only turns the water on to this fixture.
It doesn’t turn the water off to the house or anything.

So know we will go take a look at the kitchen sink.

So here we are at the kitchen sink.

I can show you just like underneath the lav sinks.

You’re going to have a couple of them (valves).

On the kitchen sink typically you will find four of them (valves).

You’ll have one hot one cold, going up for the sink.

And a lot of times you’ll have two more down here.

One for a dishwasher and a cold one for “Instahot” or anything else.

Just like the lav, this is a turn style (valve)

So if you need to work on the faucet or change out the faucet.

Turn it clockwise to the right.

And that turns the water off.

Now this one here on the hot side has an actual gate valve, same thing

Its still a standard gate valve it just looks a little different.

You would take this one and turn it to the right as well.

This ones a little long winded.

Turn it all the way until it stops

then give it a extra just to make sure its closed off.

And that will turn of the hot and cold for your kitchen sink.

Now there are some fixtures in your house that have no shut off valves.

In order to turn those off to work on them you have to go to your whole house shut off valve.

Well go out there and check that out right now.

Here we have a one inch ball valve.

This is the line coming in from the meter.

So this shuts off all the water to your house.

So with the ball valve

its like the little shut offs we saw earlier underneath the lav sink.

Its just a quarter turn.

Take the valve, turn it a quarter turn.

That turns all the water off to your house.

Now if you don’t have a shut off valve in your house

because some houses don’t.

It would be a good idea to have one.

But we can also shut it of at the meter.

So lets take a peek out at the meter

and I’ll show you how to do that.

See meter shut off video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjl-S1GhcSM

Fox Plumbing and Heating
(206) 654-4990

Knowing how to shut off  the water to your home is an important part of protecting your home in emergency situations.

When natural disasters or plumbing emergency strike. Being able to quickly shut off your homes water supply can save it from further damage.

Follow along as Fox Plumbing and Heating’s team member John walks Seattle area home owners through the steps of locating and shutting off a homes water supply.

Transcript:

Seattle Plumber John: So here we are out at the meter.

The meter is usually in little box (meter box).

Some times it has a metal lid, sometimes it has a concrete lid.

When you come out to it.

There is going to be a little shut off valve right here.

The all basically look the same.

Now when you line these two holes up, that’s when it’s off.

So you are going to turn it clockwise until the two holes line up and that will shut it off.

Now a couple little facts about the meter.

You come here (to the meter).

And if this little black dial is spinning.

That means you have water being used.

A good way to check if you have a leek in your water service.

Which is the line from the meter up to the valve.

Is to turn off that ball valve ( main water shut off in home see video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcqf8xUUhsg )

Ok so somebody just turned water on in the house so you can see what it looks like when you are using water. (water meters flow meter is turning)

Know if it is really spinning.

Your using a lot of water.

So to turn this off there are a couple good ways to do it.

The easiest way is with a “meter key”

You can buy these at any hardware store.

It has a little slot on it that fits the valve just perfectly.

You just set it right on there and it has a nice little t-handle that makes it easy to turn.

You turn it until the two holes line up.

And you have it turned off.

Now the same with the inside ball valve.

Your going to want turn off hot water heaters, turn of the water to them, and open up spigots to relieve pressure in the house

Now if you don’t happen to have one of these t-handles (meter keys).

You can also use a crescent wrench.

Which most people have in the house.

Then just set the crescent wrench (vertically) then just get anything (tool for leverage) I’m using a pair of channel locks to go through the hole (in the end of the crescent wrench).

And make your own t-handle.

And turn it off that way.

So now that you know how to turn of the shut off at the meter and shut at the main inside.

You can see how important it is to be able to shut off your main water to prevent water damage.

Fox Plumbing and Heating

206-654-4990

Hot Water Heater Emergency Shut Off Video

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said “Into Every Life, A Little Rain Must Fall”.

And every so often that rain comes in the form of a busted appliance, accident, nature, disaster, or do it yourself projects gone awry. Its a good idea to know what to do, to prevent an even bigger mess and what to do to protect your home and family in those situations.

Be sure to see King County’s http://3days3ways.org for more information on being prepared for a major disaster. Check out this short video on what to do if you need to shut down your water heater in case of emergency.

Seattle Hot Water Heater Emergency Shut Off video by Fox Plumbing and Heating is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

This video is “Closed Captioned” and we are including a transcript here.

Title: Emergency Hot Water Heater Emergency Shut Down.

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Mike from Fox Plumbing and Heating.

Today we are going to talk about how to shut down a leaky hot water tank.

Right here we have an electric hot water tank.

It’s Leaking.

We need to shut it down.

Step one.

Turn off the power.

You are going to go to your fuse panel (or breaker box), and look for your fuse (or breaker).

lets go.

At your fuse panel.

Hopefully it is marked correctly.

As to which fuse (or breaker) will turn off the power to your Electric (or gas) hot water tank.

This one (for example) says number 24 and 26.

Coming down here to number 24 and 26.

Turn the fuse (or breaker switch(es) ) off.

Never assume the power is off.

To the hot water tank.

Because things may not be marked correctly at the panel.

Without the equipment nor the knowledge to test it

Just don’t assume the power is off.

Second we need to shut the water off.

As you face the tank on the right hand side is the cold water supply to the tank.

Follow that cold water supply back until you find a valve.

This is called a “gate valve”.

The way it works is it spins to the right.

As you are looking at the handle.

Until it snugs down tight.

Now the water should be off.

Valves may not always turn completely off.

Once again,

To shut down a water heater.

Whether it be gas or electric,

You want to shut of the electricity but don’t assume the power is off.

Second

You need to shut the water off

As you face the tank

on the right hand side

is the cold water supply to the tank.

Follow that cold water supply back until you find a valve.

This called the gate valve the way it works is it spins to the right

as you are looking at the handle.

– End Transcript –

All the best from,
Fox Plumbing and Heating
(206) 654-4990

We use a product called “Citrisolve.” It can be diluted 4/1, and will also help to keep most drains running free and clear with regular use.

Here’s a fascinating (and horrifying!) video from the Seattle Channel (public access television) about the explosion in Seattle’s rat population this year.

Fox President David Brown states: “Owning a plumbing service company here in Seattle, I can confirm that rats live in many sewers, both public and private. We have often seen them when someone has forgotten to re-install a cleanout plug or airtight fitting after cleaning a drain line. Unfortunately, these small spaces give easy access to rats.”

Dave also mentions that older sewer systems with deteriorated pipes and fittings often have small holes in pipes that offer an easy entrance for vermin.

When you are doing home repairs on your plumbing, Dave recommends extra vigilance in reassembling the system, making sure every hole is plugged. If possible, he suggests using a professional plumbing service since they will have the expertise, equipment, and supplies to effectively finish the job.

These vital characteristics are honed at the home office before a crew is even dispatched on the job, and include such important little details as shoe covers to protect your floors and carpets.

Simple shoe coverings have been standard issue for Fox Plumbing and Heating crews for many years, reflecting our customary commitment to courtesy and quality service.

Other measures of professionalism include on-time response to your needs, clean new trucks completely stocked with tools and supplies and marked with company information, and service techs in uniform who offer their personal business cards to each customer. Fox employees also use drop cloths and protective covers for your floors, carpets, and furniture, as necessary.

Fox Plumbing and Heating holds weekly training sessions for employees to maintain and improve job skills and to keep abreast of industry trends and improved products. These sessions also include communications training to facilitate interaction during the service call.

We want our employees to be effective and successful, and we want our customers to be happy!

Take these tips from Fox Heating and Plumbing to avoid problems this winter:

• Wrap pipes and valves in unheated areas with heat tape or cover with pipe-insulating material. Find these materials at your local hardware store, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have the time or ability for this job, which can sometimes mean accessing difficult-to-reach areas under your house, then its better to call a plumber first rather than to call them during a cold snap to come thaw and replace pipes and then insulate your plumbing.

• When you know a cold spell is coming, turn off your irrigation system and drain water from the lines. Water left in the system can freeze and break pipes. Disconnect garden hoses from your house and cover taps with insulated covers that can bought inexpensively at home improvement stores.

• Know where your main water valve is. When you have a problem, turning the main valve off may stop water from flooding your home. You can usually find this valve near your water meter, near the street in front of the home, or in your basement or the room where utilities are located.

• If your home is going to be vacant for an extended period in the winter, consider turning the main valve off and hiring a plumbing company to drain your pipes. That way, if there is power outage or heating problem there will not be any water in the pipes to freeze