No water in the house? What to check first

First, figure out if it’s one fixture or the whole house. One dead faucet is almost always local to that fixture. If nothing in the house has water, the cause is upstream of all of it: an outage, a closed valve, a frozen line, or a break at the meter. Work through those in order before you assume the worst.

Is it really the whole house?

Check a faucet in a different room, and check both hot and cold. If one sink is dry but the tub down the hall runs fine, it’s something local, like a clogged aerator or a stuck shutoff under that sink.

If it really is everywhere, a quick text to a neighbor helps. If they’ve got water and you don’t, the problem is on your side of the meter. If they don’t either, it’s the utility.

Whole house, no water: work through this

1. Check for a utility outage. Huntsville Utilities posts outage information, and other utilities in the area do the same. A water main break or scheduled work nearby can knock out an entire street.
2. Check the account. A missed bill can mean a shutoff. It’s quick to rule out.
3. Think about who’s been in the house. If anyone did plumbing work recently, even something small, the main valve may have been closed and never reopened.
4. Consider the cold. During a hard freeze, a line can freeze solid before it bursts, which cuts off water with no leak to see. The likely spot is wherever the line comes into the house, often in a crawlspace, or near a foundation vent that lets in cold air.
5. Look at the meter box. Lift the lid if you can get to it safely. Water around the box could be a leak on either side of the meter. If the meter’s dial is spinning with everything in the house off, the leak is on your side, the service line to the house, and that’s yours to fix. If the dial is still and water’s pooling in the box, the leak is likely on the utility’s side.
6. Check the pressure-reducing valve, if the house has one. It’s a bell-shaped brass valve near where the main line comes in, and one that fails shut can cut off the whole house without any obvious sign.

On well water or in a rural area

If you’re on a private well, this list mostly doesn’t apply. A dead well pump or a failed pressure tank is its own kind of job, usually for a well service company, so start there.

Only hot water is missing

That usually means the water heater itself: a closed valve on the cold supply line into the tank, a tripped breaker or reset button on an electric unit, or a pilot light that’s gone out on a gas one. Here’s what to check when hot water alone goes missing.

What to do while you’re waiting

Don’t run faucets over and over hoping something changes. If anyone drained the water heater, leave its power off until the water’s back and the tank is full. An electric element that heats an empty tank burns out fast.

If a hard freeze is the likely cause, don’t try to thaw a pipe with an open flame. A hair dryer aimed at an exposed section, or just patience and a warmer day, is the safer route. Once the water’s back, watch closely for a few hours. A thawed pipe sometimes starts leaking once the pressure comes back.

If none of this explains it and your neighbors have water, the problem is likely your line or your meter. That’s worth a call to our emergency plumbing line instead of more guessing.