Call your utility first
Frozen meter or a stuck main shutoff
Do not try to thaw a water meter or force a shutoff. A frozen meter is a job for your water utility, and a stuck shutoff in your house is a job for a licensed plumber.
Why this happens
Protect Your Pipes says to call your water utility's customer service line right away if you think your meter is frozen, and not to thaw the meter yourself because that can cause extensive damage. The City of Winnipeg says that when every faucet runs low, the frozen pipe may be near the water meter. None of the sources we opened covers a stuck shutoff, so this is our own safety rule: never force it.
What to do right now
- Do not try to thaw the meter. Protect Your Pipes says that can cause extensive damage.
- Call your water utility's customer service line and tell them you think the meter is frozen.
- If it is your own main shutoff inside the house that will not turn, do not force it. Call a licensed plumber.
- Stay out of standing water, and keep electrical devices away from anything wet.
- Watch and listen for leaks as temperatures rise above freezing, as Travelers advises. If water starts leaking and you cannot shut it off, call a licensed plumber right away. If the meter itself is leaking, the Philadelphia Water Department says to call your water utility.
When to stop. Never force a shutoff or thaw a meter. If water leaks and you cannot shut it off, call a licensed plumber at once. If the meter itself is leaking, call your water utility.
What to tell the utility and the plumber
- Every tap in the house is dry or a trickle, and whether neighbors have water.
- What you can see at the meter, and whether the shutoff turns by hand.
- Whether anything is leaking.
Build the full list: what to tell the plumber.
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