Valves Maintenance Guides

Every home has dozens of shut-off valves -- under sinks, behind toilets, at the water heater, on the main line. They sit there for years without being touched. Then a pipe bursts and you grab the valve handle and it won't budge. Mineral deposits, corrosion, and rubber degradation seize valves that aren't used. Exercising them once or twice a year keeps them functional when you need them most.

Municipal water pressure can run 80-150 PSI at the main. Your plumbing system is designed for 40-60 PSI. That's what the pressure reducing valve does -- it steps down the incoming pressure to a safe level. When the PRV fails, high pressure stresses every fitting, hose, and valve in the house. Faucets drip, toilets run, supply hoses burst, and water heater T&P valves discharge. Testing your PRV once a year catches failures before they damage your system.

The T&P (temperature and pressure) relief valve is the single most important safety device on your water heater. If the temperature or pressure inside the tank exceeds safe limits, this valve opens and releases water to prevent the tank from becoming a bomb. That's not an exaggeration -- a water heater without a functioning T&P valve can explode with enough force to launch through a roof. Testing it takes 60 seconds.

A dripping valve usually isn't a big deal -- until it is. A slow drip from a shut-off valve under the sink seems minor, but it causes water damage, mold, and eventually a valve that fails completely when you need it. Most valve leaks are fixable in place without shutting off the main. The fix depends on where the leak is coming from.