My dishwasher flooded the kitchen at 11pm and the shutoff valve snapped in my hand

Thomas Butler · 2026-10-27T03:50:05.937893+00:00

Last Tuesday the dishwasher in my rental unit started leaking all over the floor and I didn't notice until water was seeping into the hallway carpet. I ran down to kill the water at the supply valve under the sink and the handle snapped clean off in my hand, so now I'm standing in an inch of water with an open pipe. Took me 20 minutes to find the main shutoff outside, and by then the laminate flooring had started to lift at the seams. The plumber quoted $340 just to replace the valve and another $180 to pull up and dry the floor. I got the tenant a fan and a dehumidifier from the hardware store for $95 and told her to keep it running for 3 days. Now I'm second guessing every shutoff valve in that building because if a little plastic handle breaks that easy on a Tuesday night, what else is one twist away from a mess? Has anyone dealt with valves seizing up on older units and is it worth just swapping them all out as a routine thing?

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My dishwasher flooded the kitchen at 11pm and the shutoff valve snapped in my hand | Ask Anything - Vivisector