Water trouble? Start here.
Five questions, no account, no address. We'll tell you what to shut off, what to look at, and when to stop looking.
StartThis tells you what to check. It isn't an inspection and it can't see your house.
Do you smell gas near the water heater?
We ask first because everything else can wait and this can't.
Yes, or I'm not sureNo gas smellStop
If you smell gas, leave the house now.
Don't flip switches. Don't use your phone inside.
Call 911 and your gas utility from outside.
Do not continue with this tool.
Call 911Understood — go backBefore anything else
Shut off the water.
For a single fixture, the valve is usually under it — turn clockwise.
For the whole house, the main is typically near the street or where the line enters.
If you can't find it or it won't turn, shut off the water heater too and call a plumber now.
Water is off — what now?I can't shut it offIs the water near anything electrical?
An outlet, a power strip, an appliance, a breaker panel, a furnace or water heater.
Do not walk into standing water to find out. Look from where you are.
Yes, or I can't tell from hereNo — the water is away from all of itStop. Stay out of the water.
Stop. Stay out of the water.
Water and live current together can be fatal on contact, and you cannot tell by looking whether water is energised.
Do not enter the water to reach the breaker panel. If the panel is somewhere you'd have to wade to reach, leave it.
From a dry place, outside if you can:
- Keep everyone and pets out of the room.
- Don't touch anything electrical — not a switch, not a cord, not an appliance.
- Call your electric utility and tell them there is standing water near electrical equipment. They can cut power at the street.
- If anyone has been shocked, or you smell burning, call 911 first.
Don't go into the water until the utility has confirmed the power is off. Don't touch a breaker with wet hands or while standing on anything wet.
Source: Electrical Safety Foundation International — Flooding and Disaster Safety
Understood — go backWhere is the water coming from?
Under a sink or behind a toiletFrom the ceilingAround the water heaterComing up out of a drainI can't tellA supply line or a seal at the fixture
What to look at
- The braided line running from the wall or floor to the fixture — feel it dry, then feel it again in ten minutes
- The small oval valve where that line meets the wall, and the floor directly under it
- Around the base of a toilet, and the tank bolts if it's a toilet
- Whether the water is clear or dirty
When to stop looking
Once you've shut the fixture valve and the water stops spreading, you're done for tonight. Cutting into a wall or floor to chase it further is work for someone with a moisture meter.
Three questions to ask
- Is this a repair to one fixture or a symptom of the supply line?
- What's the diagnostic fee, and does it come off the repair if I go ahead?
- Does this work need a permit, and are you pulling it?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
Water travelling from somewhere else
What to look at
- What's directly above — a bathroom, a laundry, an air handler, or open roof
- Whether it's dripping steadily, or only when a fixture upstairs runs
- Whether the ceiling is sagging or holding a bulge of water
- Whether it started during or after rain
When to stop looking
If the ceiling is sagging, stop and stay out from under it — a filled ceiling can come down all at once. Put a container under a steady drip and leave the rest.
Three questions to ask
- Is this a repair to one fixture or a symptom of the supply line?
- What's the diagnostic fee, and does it come off the repair if I go ahead?
- Does this work need a permit, and are you pulling it?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
The tank, a fitting, or the pan drain
What to look at
- Whether it's dripping from a fitting at the top or seeping from the bottom seam
- The discharge pipe from the relief valve — if it's wet, the valve released
- Whether there's a drain pan under it, and whether the pan's drain line is clear
- Rust or mineral crust at the base
When to stop looking
Seeping from the bottom seam means the tank is done — nothing to check further. Shut the water to the heater and turn off its gas or breaker.
Three questions to ask
- Is this a repair to one fixture or a symptom of the supply line?
- What's the diagnostic fee, and does it come off the repair if I go ahead?
- Does this work need a permit, and are you pulling it?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
Water going the wrong way
What to look at
- Which drains back up and which don't, and whether more than one does at once
- Whether flushing a toilet makes water rise somewhere else
- Whether it's clear water or sewage — if it's sewage, use the sewage path instead
- Whether there's a cleanout access outside, usually a capped pipe near the foundation
When to stop looking
Stop running water anywhere in the house — that's the whole intervention. More than one fixture backing up at once means the blockage is in the main line, which is not a plunger problem.
Three questions to ask
- Is this a repair to one fixture or a symptom of the supply line?
- What's the diagnostic fee, and does it come off the repair if I go ahead?
- Does this work need a permit, and are you pulling it?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
Find the edge before you find the source
What to look at
- Dry the edge of the water with a towel and mark where it ends. Check again in fifteen minutes
- Whether it's warm or cold to the touch
- Whether the sound of running water changes when you shut the main
- The lowest point in the room — water finds it, so the source is usually uphill
When to stop looking
If shutting the main stops the spread, it's a supply leak and it can wait until morning. If it keeps spreading with the main off, it's drainage or groundwater and it needs a different answer.
Three questions to ask
- Is this a repair to one fixture or a symptom of the supply line?
- What's the diagnostic fee, and does it come off the repair if I go ahead?
- Does this work need a permit, and are you pulling it?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
No hot water
What to look at
- Electric: whether the heater's breaker has tripped
- Gas: whether the pilot or burner is lit, and whether other gas appliances still work
- Whether the water is lukewarm rather than cold — that's a different problem than none at all
- Any water around the base — if there's water, use the water-on-the-floor path first
- The thermostat setting, if it's reachable and labelled
When to stop looking
Reset a tripped breaker once. If it trips again, stop and leave it — a breaker that won't hold is telling you something. Don't relight a pilot more than once, and not at all if you smell gas.
Three questions to ask
- How old is the heater, and is it under warranty?
- Is this the element, the thermostat, the valve, or the tank?
- If it's the tank, what does replacement include — permit, disposal, pan, expansion tank?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
Health hazard
Raw sewage is a health hazard.
Keep people and pets out of the affected area.
Don't run any more water into the system — no sinks, no laundry, no flushing.
Understood — what now?A dry trap, a failed seal, or a vent problem
What to look at
- Whether the smell is in one room or throughout
- Any drain that hasn't been used recently — run water in it for thirty seconds and see if the smell fades within the hour
- Whether a toilet rocks when you sit on it
- Whether it's worse after rain, or on windy days
When to stop looking
If running water in unused drains clears it, that was it. A smell that persists after every trap is filled is a seal or a vent, and both are above what a look can settle.
Three questions to ask
- Did you find the source, or are you replacing parts to see what helps?
- If it's a vent, is the work on the roof or in the wall?
- What did you check to rule out a cracked line under the slab?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
No water at all
What to look at
- Whether it's every fixture or just some — one dry fixture is that fixture's valve
- Whether the main shutoff got closed, including by anyone working on the house
- The meter, if you can reach it — whether the dial is moving with everything off
- Whether neighbours have water, which separates your house from the street
- Whether it's below freezing, or has been overnight
When to stop looking
If the whole street is out, it's the utility and there's nothing to check. If it froze, don't apply heat to a pipe you can't see the whole length of — thawing a burst line just moves the flood indoors.
Three questions to ask
- Is the problem on my side of the meter or the utility's?
- If it's a frozen line, what's the plan if it's already split?
- What would prevent this next winter, and what does that cost?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
The bill went up
What to look at
- Turn everything off, then watch the meter's low-flow indicator. Movement with everything off means water is going somewhere
- Put a few drops of food colouring in each toilet tank, wait fifteen minutes, and check the bowl for colour
- Irrigation — a broken head or a stuck valve runs at night and leaves no evidence by morning
- Any warm or unusually green patch of ground on the water line's route
- Whether the utility changed rates or the billing period covered more days
When to stop looking
If the meter is still with everything off, there's no leak and the answer is in the bill itself. If it's moving and no toilet colours, the leak is underground or under the slab — that's the point to stop.
Three questions to ask
- How did you locate the leak — did you find it, or infer it?
- Is it under the slab, and if so what's the access plan?
- What's the repair if the pipe turns out to be worse than expected?
This is general guidance for Texas homes, not a diagnosis of yours. We haven't seen your house and can't tell you what's wrong with it.
Source
- Electrical Safety Foundation International — Flooding and Disaster Safety — The electrical-and-water interrupt: do not enter a flooded area until the utility has confirmed power is off, and do not touch a breaker with wet hands or while standing on a wet surface.