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How to find and turn off your main water valve (UK, US, Germany)

The main valve sits where the cold-water pipe enters your home: often under the kitchen sink in the UK, by the water meter in the US and Germany, or next to your own meters in a flat. Turn a handle clockwise, or a lever across the pipe, until it stops.

By Abu Bakar Saadat · Publisher: Saadat Rafiq · 3 min read · Published 27 October 2026

Usual place, UK house: Under the kitchen sink, downstairs toilet or utility room (Barratt Homes)
Usual place, US house: Basement, garage, or by the foundation near the front outdoor faucet (City of Bellevue)
Usual place, German flat: Next to the flat's own water meters (GIGA)
To close: Handle clockwise until it stops; lever across the pipe
Advice from: Barratt Homes, Thames Water, City of Bellevue Utilities and GIGA, read 27 October 2026
Checked: October 2026

Illustration of a cutaway house with the water pipe coming in from the ground and the main valve on it marked in yellow — Illustration

Find it now, not during a leak. Then you'll know where to go when a pipe bursts.

Before you start

Switch off your boiler or water heater first if the water will be off for more than a few minutes. Barratt Homes says to turn the boiler off before you shut off the water.
Bring a torch. Valves hide at the back of cupboards. Your phone's torch works.
Shared supply? Turning off an outside valve can cut your neighbours' water too (Thames Water). Tell them first.

Where to look

Your home	Where the main valve usually is
UK house	Under the kitchen sink, in the downstairs toilet or under the sink in the utility room (Barratt Homes). Outside: under a cover in the path or pavement, often by the water meter (Thames Water).
UK flat	Often in the communal area outside your front door, or in a cupboard with the other flats' stopcocks (Barratt Homes).
US house	Basement, garage, or by the foundation near the front outdoor faucet. Outside: in the meter box (City of Bellevue).
German house	Where the pipe comes into the building, usually in the basement, near the water meter (Wasserzähler). It's called the Haupthahn or Hauptabsperrventil (GIGA).
German flat	Next to your flat's own water meters: one valve for cold, one for hot. The building's main valve in the basement is usually out of tenants' reach (GIGA).

Step 1: follow the pipe, or find the meter

Illustration of an open kitchen sink cupboard with a round valve handle on one supply pipe — Illustration: under the kitchen sink, common in UK houses

Start under the kitchen sink or at the water meter, and follow the cold pipe back to where it comes into your home.

Illustration of a basement wall with a water pipe rising from the floor, a water meter on it and a valve just above and below the meter — Illustration: by the water meter, common in US and German houses

Illustration of an open wall panel in a bathroom with two water meters, blue for cold and red for hot, each with a lever valve — Illustration: a flat's own meters behind a bathroom panel

Step 2: see which kind of valve you have

Illustration of two valves side by side: a round wheel handle on the left and a flat lever lying along the pipe on the right — Illustration: wheel handle (left) and lever (right)

A round wheel or T-shaped handle turns several times. A flat lever turns a quarter turn (City of Bellevue).

Step 3: close a handle clockwise

Illustration of a hand turning a round valve wheel clockwise, with a curved arrow — Illustration

Turn it clockwise until you feel resistance, like closing a tap (Barratt Homes). It may take several turns. Don't force it past the point where it stops (Thames Water).

Step 4: or turn a lever across the pipe

Illustration of a lever valve: the lever shown faintly along the pipe, then turned a quarter turn to sit across it — Illustration: along the pipe is open, across is closed

A lever is open when it lines up with the pipe and closed when it sits across it (City of Bellevue, Barratt Homes).

Step 5: check it worked

Illustration of a kitchen tap with only a few last drops of water — Illustration

Open a cold tap. Water left in the pipes can run for a few minutes, then it should stop (Thames Water).

Step 6: turn it back on slowly

Turn the handle anticlockwise, or the lever back along the pipe. It can take a few minutes for water to reach your taps (Thames Water).

If you can't find it, or it won't work

Illustration of a small cover lifted from a front path with a long T-shaped key reaching down to a valve — Illustration: a UK outside stop valve

UK: use the outside stop valve under the cover in the path or pavement, only in an emergency. You may need a stopcock key (Barratt Homes, Thames Water).

Illustration of an open meter box in the ground by a kerb, with a hand using a wrench on the valve beside the water meter — Illustration: a US meter box

US: in an emergency you can close the valve in the meter box with a wrench or meter key, clockwise. Careful with the lid: it may be wired to the reading device. Tampering with the meter is illegal (City of Bellevue).
German flat with no valves by your meters: call your landlord or Hausverwaltung, who can reach the building's main valve.
The handle won't move: stop. Forcing an old valve can break it. Call a plumber or your water company (Thames Water).
Water still runs after 10 minutes: you may have closed a valve for one fitting only, or the main valve no longer seals. Try the outside or meter valve and call a plumber.

Get help

If water is near sockets or electrics, or coming through a ceiling, keep away from that area and call a plumber or the emergency services.

Questions readers ask

How long does the water take to stop?

A few minutes. Thames Water says water left in the pipes can keep running from your taps for a while after the valve is closed.

Will turning it off cut my neighbours' water too?

Only if you share a supply. In some older UK homes one outside valve feeds several houses, so Thames Water says to tell your neighbours first.

Where is the stopcock in a UK flat?

Barratt Homes says it is often in the communal area outside your front door, or in a cupboard with the stopcocks for the other flats.

Can I use the small valves under a sink or by the washing machine instead?

They shut off only that one tap, toilet or appliance. Barratt Homes says an appliance valve is closed when its handle sits at 90 degrees to the pipe, and tap and toilet valves need a screwdriver.

Sources

This article is based on the sources above. We have not tested these products ourselves. Prices and availability change; check the maker's website before you buy.