Vent, Valve & Volt
Valve: Plumbing

Printable plumbing checklist

One page to keep where you can find it: the signs that mean stop and call, the safe things to try first, and the questions a plumber will ask. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your print dialog.

Fill it in on screen instead

Vent, Valve & VoltPlumbing checklist

Leave or call right now

  • You smell gas near the water heater or anywhere in the house.911 and your gas utility, from a safe distance outside.
  • The flame in a gas water heater burns yellow or orange.A water heater technician or your gas company. Turn the gas control off per the label on the heater.
  • Water comes out of the water heater's temperature and pressure relief valve pipe.A licensed plumber, right away.
  • Water keeps pooling under the water heater tank and the puddle grows.A licensed plumber or authorized service provider. Turn off the power or gas and the water supply to the heater first.
  • An active leak you cannot stop because a shutoff is seized or you cannot find one.A licensed plumber now. Close the main shutoff if you can reach and turn it.

Safe to try first

  • Replace a worn faucet or shower cartridge, stem, or seats and springs after shutting off the water. Manufacturers including Moen, Delta and Pfister publish these steps.
  • Clean a faucet aerator or pull-out hose screen, with a white vinegar soak for stubborn deposits, as Delta and Moen suggest.
  • Run EPA's dye test on a running toilet: color in the bowl after 10 minutes means a leak. Replace the flapper and set the chain to 1 to 2 links of slack, as Korky recommends.
  • Set the toilet tank water level about 1/2 inch below the top of the overflow tube, per Korky.
  • Adjust a shower's temperature limit stop by following your valve's own guide, and check the hottest water with a thermometer. CPSC recommends 120F.
  • Make sure shower stops and both main shutoffs are fully open when pressure or hot water drops after a repair, as Moen and Mr. Rooter advise.
  • Reset a tripped electric water heater breaker once, opening only the hinged panel door: off, wait 20 seconds, back on, as Bob Vila describes. If it trips again, call.
  • Lubricate a stiff Moen 1225 cartridge with silicone grease only. Moen warns never to use a petroleum-based lubricant.
  • Do not force a stuck valve. If it will not turn, call a plumber.

Call a pro soon

  • A shower that still drips after you replaced the cartridge, seats or stem, especially on an older valve.A licensed plumber.
  • Your electric water heater's breaker trips again after a reset, or a gas pilot will not stay lit.A licensed plumber, electrician or water heater technician.
  • Low water pressure in the whole house that keeps coming back, or that dropped suddenly.A licensed plumber.
  • A weak flush that keeps coming back, or several drains slow at once.A licensed plumber.
  • A two-piece toilet that keeps running even with a new flapper.A licensed plumber.
  • Water sprays from the showerhead when only the tub spout should run.A licensed plumber.
  • A shower that jumps scalding or ice cold when a toilet flushes, on a valve with no pressure balancing.A licensed plumber.

Write this down before you call

What's affected?
Brand and model
How many handles?
Where exactly is the water, or what exactly is wrong?
When did it start, and what changed?
Hot, cold or both?
Which shutoffs did you turn, and do they close fully?
Water heater fuel, make and age
Pipe material and home age
Have any chemical drain cleaners been used?
What have you already tried?
Photos and prep done

Every stop-and-call sign and try-first step comes from the sources listed at ventvalveandvolt.com/valve/when-to-call-a-plumber/.

The stop-and-call signs and try-first steps on this sheet are taken from our when to call a plumber guide, which lists the manufacturer and safety-agency pages behind them.

References (every fact above comes from one of these pages)
  1. Pennsylvania PUC: Gas emergencies
  2. Atmos Energy: Recognizing a leak
  3. Bob Vila: No hot water? Here's what to do
  4. Rheem technical bulletin 1220: T&P relief valve
  5. A. O. Smith: Water heater leaking
  6. A. O. Smith: Technical bulletin 51
  7. Berkeys: Is it a mistake to think the plumber will handle all the prep?
  8. PlumbingQuotes: What to do before the plumber arrives
  9. Delta: Two or three-handle tub and shower leaking
  10. EPA WaterSense: Fix a Leak Week
  11. Mr. Rooter: What causes low water pressure?
  12. The Building Code: Ideal water pressure for a house
  13. Pacific Backflow: What should household water pressure be?
  14. HomeTips: Toilet has a weak flush
  15. Family Handyman: How to stop a running toilet
  16. Moen: Water comes out of the showerhead when the tub spout is used
  17. Symmons: Pressure-balancing versus thermostatic shower valves
  18. Delta: Diverter tub spout (tub and shower repair guidance)
  19. Delta: How to fix your flow
  20. Moen: Low water flow from spout, both hot and cold, on sink faucets
  21. Korky: Running toilet
  22. Korky: Loud or broken fill valve
  23. CPSC: Avoiding tap water scalds
  24. Moen: Handle is difficult to operate
  25. Moen: How to adjust the Posi-Temp temperature limit stop
  26. Home Depot: How to turn off the water to your house