In a pinch, do you know how to shut off water, electricity? Ask the inspector Home maintenance tips

Because houses typically do not come with a users manual, we often learn about our houses in response to a crisis like a plumbing leak, an electrical outlet that is suddenly dead, or an air conditioner that stops cooling —- always on a 90-plus degree day.

To help homeowners avoid these crises, I and most home inspectors will teach home-buying clients about safety devices, cut-off valves and simple maintenance items that can save them time and money in an emergency. The following is a short list of some of these items.

Plumbing

Almost all houses have an additional cut-off valve inside the foundation of the house, usually at the entry point of the water service pipe. In fact, current building codes require it.

If your house is over a basement, the valve is usually found in the water service pipe just inside the foundation.

If your basement is finished, there may be an access panel to the valve. If you cannot find it, it may have been closed off when the basement was finished. In this case, I recommend calling a licensed plumber or general contractor to help you find the valve.

If your house is constructed on a concrete slab foundation, the main water cut-off is typically next to or above the water heater. Often, in slab houses, the water heater is in the garage.

If the valve is not near the water heater, look for an access to the area under the stairs to the second floor. Sometimes the main cut-off is in this under-stair area.

As with basements, if your house is constructed over a crawl space, the valve likely will be just inside the foundation at the water service entry. If your crawl space is low and difficult to navigate, it may be easier to turn the water off at the meter, which is usually at the street in the front of your house.

To turn the water off or on at the meter will require a tool called a “water key.” You can buy one from any home improvement store for about $10.

Electrical

As with your plumbing supply system, your electrical system also usually has a main cut-off. I will discuss exceptions to this rule in a minute.

In many homes, the main breaker or “service disconnect” is in the main panel box. However, since the 1980s, the main disconnect must be at the electrical service entry into the house.

Often this is someplace outside the home. Many homeowners do not realize that they must go outside to the service entry location to find the main breaker.

Some older panel boxes do not have one main fuse or breaker. Instead, they have one or two main breakers or fuse blocks serving the smaller, 120-volt circuits, and several more breakers or fuse blocks that serve the 240-volt circuits.

This is permissible as long as there are not more than six of these main breakers or fuses.

Heating and cooling

When was the last time you changed your furnace filter? Do you even know where it is?

In most cases in Georgia, the furnace filter is inside or adjacent to the blower compartment of the furnace. If the filter is adjacent to the blower compartment, it can usually be found in a thin slot. Sometimes this slot has a cover on it, but sometimes it does not.

If no cover is present, call a licensed HVAC contractor to install one. If the filter is inside the blower compartment, getting to it can be difficult.

Access requires removal of two doors on the front of the furnace. Usually the door over the burner compartment must be removed before the door over the blower compartment can be accessed.

If your furnace is in a crawl space, you might find yourself twisted into a pretzel just to get a new filter installed.

In fewer, but certainly more user-friendly instances, the filter is installed inside the grill for the return duct.

Because clean furnace filters are critical for clean air and protection of the heating and cooling equipment, they must be replaced regularly.

Replace standard filters every two to three months. If filter replacement is a task you do not want to tackle, consider maintaining a service contract with a licensed HVAC contractor that includes regular filter replacement.