“The washer hose let go and I found the main from the card under my sink. Rodney asked me three questions on the phone, told me what the visit would cost, and the bill matched.”
Perla E.Homeowner, Manito
Plumber for water emergencies, Spokane
Shut the water off. Then call.
Two of us cover the Spokane area: Colleen by day, Rodney at night. Not sure where your shutoff is? The manual below finds it by the year your house was built.
- Licensed and insured, number in the footer
- Written price before work starts
- A plumber answers, day and night
- Smell gas?Leave the house. Call 911 or your gas utility from outside. This line is for water.
Field manual
Find your shutoff by the year your house was built
Read it once, tonight, while the water is still where it belongs. Print it and tape it inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
Built before 1950
Go to the basement wall that faces the street. Follow the pipe in from the foundation to the first valve with a round wheel. Turn it clockwise until it stops, slowly.
A wheel that will not turn: stop. An old valve can snap.
A drip at the stem is fine; a spray is not.
Built 1950 to 1979
Look in the basement or crawl space, on the front wall or beside the water heater. It is a round wheel or a short lever. A wheel takes several turns; a lever takes a quarter turn.
Lever across the pipe: closed.
Lever along the pipe: open.
Built 1980 to 1999
Look in the utility room, the garage or beside the water heater, where the pipe comes through the wall. A lever valve, usually brass.
Lever across the pipe: closed.
Built 2000 or later
Look in the garage, a utility closet or the wall behind the water heater. Find the bell-shaped brass fitting: the main shutoff is the lever just ahead of it.
Several colored tubes on a manifold: the big handle ahead of the manifold is the main.
Cannot find it, or it will not turn
Go outside, near the street. A lid in the ground marked WATER covers your meter. The valve there belongs to the water utility: do not pry it with pliers. Open the lowest cold tap in the house and call.
Then, in this order
Four things, one after the other.
Open the lowest cold tap to drain the pipes.
Turn the water heater off at its breaker, or its gas control to off.
Photograph the wet, the pipe and the valve.
Call, and say what you shut off, whether water still runs and where it is wet.
The phone
Who answers, hour by hour
Weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Colleen
She owns the firm and picks up. She looks at the job, writes the price and does the work.
Nights and weekends: Rodney
He is the night technician and drives the night van. He picks up, asks three questions and tells you the night charge before he leaves.
When both of us are on a job
The call goes to voicemail and a text. We call back in the order of the damage, worst first.
After you call
What happens next
We ask three questions
Where is the water, is it still running, and did you reach the shutoff.
You hear the visit terms
When we can be there, what the visit costs and what a night call adds.
How a call gets pricedWe look, then price
The written price comes before any work, with what it includes and what it leaves out.
You say yes or no
A no is fine. You pay the visit fee, not a repair.
Service area
Where we go
Spokane and the towns around it. If your town is not listed, call and ask before you assume.
Spokane County
- Spokane
- Spokane Valley
- Liberty Lake
- Millwood
- Cheney
- Medical Lake
- Airway Heights
- Mead
- Nine Mile Falls
- Deer Park
- Otis Orchards
We don't go to Idaho (Post Falls, Coeur d'Alene) or north of Deer Park. For those, call a plumber who is close to you.
ZIP codes: 99201, 99202, 99203, 99204, 99205, 99206, 99208, 99212, 99216, 99217, 99218, 99223, 99224
From people who called
“My landlord was out of town. I called after midnight and a person answered, not a machine. The water was off in my bathroom and I could sleep.”
Jolene S.Renter, Lincoln Heights
“Colleen replaced the old wheel valve on our main so it turns now. She showed us where it is and which way is closed.”
Brendan H.Homeowner, Spokane Valley
Short answers
Do you charge more at night?
Yes. Calls from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. and on weekends and holidays carry a night charge. We tell you the amount on the phone before you agree.
Will I know the price before you start?
Yes, in writing. If the work changes once a wall is open, we stop and you decide.
What does the visit fee cover?
The drive, the look and the explanation of your options. If you hire us for the repair that visit, it comes off the repair price.
Can you come if my town isn't listed?
Call and ask. We would rather say no on the phone than be late.
How do I check your license?
The number is in the footer of every page and on the licenses page, with a link to the state's lookup.
Not running right now?
Send the details
A form is for a slow drip, a stuck valve or a job that can wait. Water running now: call.
Phone(509) 555-0100
HoursEmergency line: Open 24 hours
Day jobs and estimates: Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.