When a braided hose bursts under a vanity, it can put out more than a bucket of water a minute. The most useful thing you can do before a plumber arrives is turn the water off at the meter. It takes two minutes to learn where yours is, and it is much easier to learn on a dry afternoon than at midnight.
Where the meter usually is
On most houses in Brunswick and Coburg the meter sits just inside the front boundary, near the fence line or beside the front garden tap. It is often tucked low behind plants, or under a plastic or concrete lid set into the ground. Lift the lid with care, because spiders like meter boxes. Units and townhouses can share one meter at the street, with a separate isolation tap for each home. In an apartment, look for a lever valve under the kitchen sink, in the laundry or in a hallway service cupboard.
Turning it off
- A lever handle: turn it a quarter turn so it sits across the pipe. In line with the pipe is on, across the pipe is off.
- A round or T-shaped handle: turn it clockwise until it stops. Firm is enough, do not lean on it.
- Open the garden tap or a low tap inside to let the pressure out. The flow should slow to nothing within a minute.
- If the leak is on the hot side, you can also close the tap on the cold pipe going into the water heater.
If the tap will not move
Meter taps seize when they have not been turned for years. Do not force one with a spanner or a length of pipe, because a snapped spindle is a worse night than a dripping ceiling. Call your water retailer on the faults number on your bill. The tap at the meter is usually theirs to fix. In the meantime, most toilets and many sinks have their own small isolation tap on the wall behind them, and closing that one may be all you need.
A quick leak test while you are there
Turn off every tap and appliance in the house, then watch the meter. If the small dial or the red numbers are still moving, water is going somewhere. Check the toilets first: a few drops of food colouring in the cistern will show in the bowl within ten minutes if the valve is leaking. If the toilets are fine and the meter still turns, you have a hidden leak. Tracing one usually starts from $180, and it costs far less found early than after it has lifted a floor.