How to Turn Off Water to Toilet? 4 Different Ways!

You face a plumbing emergency in your washroom. Your toilet is overflowing or any pipe leakage is in there. Water is overflowing from your toilet, and ruining your washroom’s ground. You should know the method on how to turn off water to toilet. This process is easy and doesn’t require any professional help.

Our expert team has seen a lot of people who don’t know this simple plumbing hack. Due to their lack of knowledge, they face a lot of mishaps in their washroom. This costs them a lot of money, effort, and time. We decided to discuss four different methods on how to turn off water to toilet. It will take only ten to fifteen minutes, and you can avoid a lot of misfortune.

So, keep continue reading this article till the end to know the best methods on how to turn off water to toilet.

Reason for Overflowing Toilet

Before discussing how to turn off water to toilet, we will discuss why they overflow.

There can be different reasons for your overflowing toilet. But, the most common reason lies within the tank of your toilet.

In the tank, there is a fill valve kit that takes water into the tank. With it, there is a flush valve kit that empties water in the bowl of the toilet. A pipe is bridging both of these kits, enabling them to work smoothly.

If that pipe disconnects, the tank will be full of water. And, that water will overflow into your toilet’s ground.

Other than this reason, there can be other issues too. Some of them are blocked or leaked pipes, flushing non-flushable things in the toilet, or weak flushing that causes clogs in the plumbing system.

Now, we will discuss four different ways to overcome this issue.

1. Emergency Shut-Off Valve

Your toilet gets water supply from the plumbing system present in the toilet’s wall. From this system, water enters into a valve. That valve is attached to the lower side of your toilet’s tank through a flexible hose.

In the first method of how to turn off water to toilet, you have to close this emergency valve. And, the method of doing this is:

1. Locate the valve. It is present on the bottom left of the toilet. You will notice the flexible hose connected to it. It will be either attached to the wall or the ground. The valve comes in different shapes but most commonly it is in a football shape.
2. Now, turn it in a clockwise direction. You should keep doing it until it reaches its endpoint. 
3. Now, flush the toilet. It will tell you if the water supply is shut off or not. When you push the button, the water will flush as usual. But, the tank will not fill afterward. It is a sign that your toilet is no longer getting water.

When you overcome your toilet issue and want to turn on the water supply, move the valve in the counterclockwise direction. Turn it in until you can. And, again flush the toilet to test if it is getting water or not.

In this process, you can face some issues too. The most common hurdle is your valve will not turn in any direction because it is clogged. Rust has restricted its movement. In this case, you need to lubricate it.

The most common lubricant for it is WD-40. If the valve does not move after it, you need to replace it.

The second issue is old toilets don’t have this emergency valve. 

2. Turn Off The Main Water Valve

When your valve is not shutting off because of a clog in an emergency situation, you should go for this method for how to turn off water to toilet.

There is a main water supply which is providing water to your house. You need to shut off the valve in that main supply. It will cut off the water supply to every part of your home. Now, the question is: Where can you find your main water supply valve? 

• If you live in a colder climate, this valve can be in your basement. Check near the first foundation wall to find out the main water supply.
• It can be in the crawl space.
• If you live in a warmer climate, check it outside of your home. This valve can be in a metal box in your home. The metal box can be in the wall or underground. You will find out the lid.
• If your house has an external water heater, your main water supply will be near it.

If you are unable to find your water meter, you should hire a professional plumber. He will spot the water meter for you.

Now, you have to spot the water meter, open its lid, and you need to shut off the valve. So, how to spot the valve?

This main valve comes in two categories; a ball valve or a gate valve. The ball valve has a narrow handle while the gate valve has a round one.

There can be two valves in the box with the water meter in between them. The valve which is connected to the house can be used to cut off water to toilet. If there is only one valve, you have to shut it off. This will turn off the water to your toilet.

Just grip the handle and turn it in a clockwise direction to close it. It will turn off water to the toilet. After doing it, turn on the cold and hot taps at the bottom of the house. It will relieve the water pressure, if any, in the system.

When you are done with your plumbing task, just turn the valve in the counterclockwise direction. It will turn on the water supply to your house.

3. Use the Wood for Float Lever

If you don’t have the emergency valve in your washroom, and you want to avoid the hassle of finding the main water valve, you can use this method on how to turn off water to toilet.

In it, you just need to restrict the movement of the float lever valve. A float lever is a valve in your tank that allows water in it. When water fills to a certain level in the tank, this float lever stops letting water in it. And when we flush the water, it allows more water in the tank.

When you remove the lid of your toilet, you will see this float lever floating on the upper surface of the water. When you flush it, it will sink. Here, you need to stop it from having more water in the tank. Do this through this method:

1. Take a wood piece that is almost one inch shorter than the height of the tank.
2. Slip it under the float lever. Make sure that you position it vertically under the float lever so it is on the ground of the tank.
3. Now, push the flush button. The tank will get empty while the wood keeps the float lever in its position. That will prevent water from coming into the tank.
4. When you are done with the process, remove this wooden piece. It will allow water to enter into the tank again.

This method can have some issues too. The most common is that you will be unable to flush the water. It can be due to any clog or other sewage issue. 

To solve this, you can take a bucket to take out the water from the tank. If you don’t have a bucket, you can take a long cup too.

The other issue can be that your tank’s walls are too high to place the wood in it. For this, you can use any other tall and sturdy thing to hold the float lever. 

Or, you can place the wood piece above the float lever, and tie both of them with a stiff wire. 

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4. Cut-Off the Water Supply from Curbside Water Valve

We don’t recommend this method as it is illegal in some states. But, if nothing works for you, you can go for this method on how to turn off water to toilet. Just remember to call the water company in your area before going for this method.

The curbside valve should be located on the street side of your yard. The valve will be in your meter which is securely covered with the help of nuts. You can use a wrench to take off the cover.

Then, locate the valve in it and turn it in the clockwise direction. It will turn off water to toilet.

So, these are the four methods of shutting off the main water supply. But, in these methods, you need to remember some precautionary steps too. 

Precautionary Steps for How to Turn off Water to Toilet

You should remember these two precautionary steps on how to turn off water to toilet.

• Never use a wrench to close the valve. These valves are easy to turn in the clockwise direction so you don’t need to put your force in it. If they are not moving, it means they are rusted or clogged. If you use force on them, they will break down and water will overflow in your house. So, you need a professional plumber to turn it off.
• You should never ignore the overflowing water issue in the toilet. Try to address this issue as soon as you spot the problem. And, give a call to the professional.

So, this is all about turning off the water to the overflowing toilet.

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