What to do if…
your kitchen cabinet base is wet and you cannot find the source of the leak

What to do now

1. Create a safer pause. Put on shoes, move stored items out of the wet cupboard, and keep children and pets away from the area.
2. Shut off water at the closest point you can use safely.
   • If the wetness is under the sink, turn the small isolation valves for the tap feeds to the off position if that is obvious and they are easy to move.
   • If there are appliance feeds for a dishwasher or washing machine, turn those isolation valves off too if you can do that without forcing them.
   • If you cannot find the right valve quickly, or the leak may be from more than one connection, turn off the home’s inside stop valve.
3. Check the supply is off without trying to recreate the leak. Open the cold kitchen tap briefly.
   • If it slows and stops, the cold supply is probably isolated.
   • If it keeps running normally, you may have turned the wrong valve. Do not force anything; keep the area contained and get help.
   • Do not run the dishwasher, washing machine, or hot tap to test the leak source.
4. Protect electrics.
   • If water is near sockets, switches, built-in appliances, cables, or the consumer unit, do not touch wet electrical items.
   • If you can reach the consumer unit or fuse box from a dry, safe position, switch off the affected kitchen circuit. If you cannot identify it safely, use the main switch.
   • If you would need to stand in water, touch wet surfaces, or reach past wet electrics, step back and call your landlord, managing agent, building emergency contact, or a registered electrician.
5. Contain the water.
   • Put a bowl, tray, or bucket under the wettest point.
   • Use towels to stop water spreading across the cupboard base or floor.
   • Wipe up standing water if you can do it safely, then leave the cupboard doors open.
6. Make a quick visual check only after the water is off.
   • Look for fresh water around the sink trap or U-bend.
   • Look at the tap tails or flexible hoses that feed the tap.
   • Look at dishwasher or washing machine hoses that pass through the cabinet side or back.
   • Look for water tracks from above, from a pipe joint, or from the waste pipe area; do not dismantle anything.
7. Contact the right help.
   • If you rent, contact your landlord, agent, council, or housing association urgently and say what you turned off, whether the water stopped, and whether electrics may be affected.
   • If you own, contact a plumber urgently if the water will not stay off, a valve will not turn, or the leak restarts as soon as you reopen a valve.
   • If you are in a flat or shared building and cannot isolate the supply, contact the landlord, managing agent, building manager, freeholder, or emergency building contact. Your water company may also be able to advise about external stop taps or supply-side issues.