| > | | | | closed. This will stop the water coming in from the |
| If there was a soggy emergency at your house, | | | | rising main. |
| would you know what to do? How does the water | | | | 2 — Turn on the bathroom cold taps until the |
| system work, where does all the water come from | | | | water stops flowing, and then turn on the hot taps |
| and how do you turn it off? Knowing the answer to | | | | (only a little water will come out of them). There is |
| these questions could be the difference between a | | | | no need to turn off the boiler as the hot water |
| bit of a wet carpet and completely drenched house. | | | | cylinder will not be drained. |
| Most houses have a cold water tank, usually in the | | | | For taps that are fed from the rising main, turn off |
| loft, which feeds most of the taps in the house, plus | | | | (clockwise) the main stopcock, and then turn on the |
| the lavatory cistern. The tank is filled by the rising | | | | tap until the water stops flowing. |
| main. The only tap fed direct from the rising main is | | | | If you don’t know where the stopcock is |
| usually the kitchen cold tap, which should always be | | | | then it is worth going and having a look for it now. In |
| used for drinking water. A washing machine and | | | | an emergency such as a burst pipe you will want to |
| garden tap may also be fed by the rising main. A few | | | | be able to find it quickly. In most houses is it where |
| pre-war and country houses have all the taps, and | | | | the water supply enters the house. It is often under |
| lavatory cistern, fed direct from the rising main. | | | | the kitchen sink or in the larder. If the house has a |
| Whether you have a burst pipe or you just want to | | | | cellar it may be down there. In a bungalow look in |
| change the washer on a leaky tap, you will need to | | | | the airing cupboard. |
| turn the water supply off first. | | | | In a last resort, if the stopcock is jammed or |
| For taps that are fed from the cold tank, turn off | | | | doesn’t stop the flow of water you may |
| (clockwise) the gate valve or isolating valve in the | | | | need to turn off the water supply from the outside |
| appropriate pipe. If may be in the loft. When you | | | | stopcock in from of your house. It’s under a |
| have identified it, label it so you don’t forget. | | | | small square(ish) metal cover either just inside your |
| If there is no gate valve or isolating valve on the | | | | garden or in the pavement out the front. |
| pipe, you will have to drain the cold-water tank as | | | | The stopcock is below ground level at the bottom of |
| follows: | | | | a pipe, so you need a key which you will have to |
| 1 — Put a piece of wood, like a broom stick, | | | | improvise. The stopcock may have a tap in which |
| across the top of the tank and tie the ball valve to it | | | | case a length of wood with a couple of notches at |
| so that the valve is out of the water and thus | | | | the end would do the trick. |