How To Shut Off Main Water Supply Valve Without Special Tools

Not only is the main water supply valve for a house usually buried underground, the valve usually does not have a handle and it is likely very tight. So how do you shut it off if you need to?  A regular wrench with a long handle can turn a tough valve however since the main valve is buried underground, there is no space to fit a long handle. The water company uses a special tool for this. Today I am going to show you how to quickly fit this wrench and use it to shut off and re-open your main water supply valve without any special tools. 

A gardener I worked with, who has had 30 years of experience, really liked my method, saying he has never seen anything like it. Why would you want to shut off the main water supply valve? For some houses, if you want to fix the sprinklers or outdoor water leaks, this is the only option because there are no other valves that can turn off the water. I also noticed that if I shut off the main water supply, I can drain the remaining water in the pipes by opening a valve at a low point of the house such as the garden hose. For indoor leak repairs, if you drain the water that is lower than the height where the repair is being done, you will minimize water spills during your repair.