No water from the tap — where to start
When the water stops, the first instinct is to call a plumber — but half the time the cause is something simple you can check yourself in minutes: a municipal cut-off day, an empty roof tank whose pump didn't run, or a valve someone closed. The point isn't to fix everything; it's to find where the problem is, in order, from the cheapest and simplest to the hardest — before you pay a call-out fee.
The problem
You open the tap and nothing comes out, or a weak spurt then it dies, or the water has stopped across the whole house at once. Sometimes you hear air and knocking in the pipe when you first open it, or one tap is dead while the rest of the house is fine, or there's no water until you switch the pump on.
Likely causes
The municipal supply is off, or it's a rationing day
In most cities in the region, water arrives on a schedule — not 24/7. In Amman, for example, each neighbourhood gets one pumping day a week, and the tanks fill on that day. If it isn't your day, or the utility has cut off for maintenance, you'll find the tank empty and no pressure. This is the first thing to confirm — it saves you dismantling half the house.
The roof tank is empty and the pump didn't run
Most homes here rely on a rooftop tank that fills from the municipal line, and a pump that pushes water from the tank into the house. If the tank is empty — because no water came from the utility, because the float valve failed to shut the inlet, or because the pump is switched off — the water stops even if the street line is working.
The pump's breaker is off or the pump is switched off
The pump that lifts water into the house is usually on its own breaker in the electrical panel. If that breaker has tripped, someone switched the pump off by mistake, or a fuse blew, water reaches the tank but never gets to the taps with pressure. A great many 'no water' cases are nothing more than a tripped breaker.
A main or local stop valve is closed
There's a main stop valve where the water enters the house, and small valves under each basin and behind each toilet cistern. If someone closed one after a repair or by mistake, or an old valve has corroded and won't open fully, the water is cut to a single point or the whole house, depending on which valve it is.
An airlock after the supply returns
When water comes back after a cut, air sometimes gets trapped in the pipes, so you get an intermittent spurt, a knocking sound, then nothing. This isn't a fault — it just needs bleeding: open the lowest tap in the house and leave it running until the air clears and the flow steadies.
A clogged tap aerator — one tap only
If the water is weak or cut off at one tap while the rest are fine, the aerator (the mesh at the tap's tip) is usually clogged with sediment and limescale. Regional water is hard and scales up fast. Unscrew it, soak it in vinegar, and it clears in minutes.
A frozen pipe in winter (Amman highlands)
On frost nights in the highlands — Amman, Shobak, anywhere above 900m — an exposed pipe on the roof or an outside wall can freeze and stop the water. It usually thaws by midday on its own, but you can help it gently. Frozen pipes can burst, so take care.
Fix it — step by step
- Work out: one tap or the whole house?Open several taps in different places — kitchen, bathroom, outside. If they're all dry, the problem is at the source (utility, tank, pump, main valve). If just one tap is dry, it's local (aerator or the valve under that basin).Test the cold and hot separately — if only the hot is dead, the problem is at the water heater, not the main supply.
- Ask the neighbours and check the utility scheduleIf the whole house is dry, call a neighbour or check whether they have water. If they're also without water, the utility has likely cut off or it isn't your pumping day. Check the supply schedule for your area.Save your water department's numbers, and note which day your neighbourhood is pumped — it spares you the panic each time.
- Go up to the roof and check the tank levelOpen the tank lid and look at the water level. If it's empty, that's your answer. Watch whether water is flowing in from the municipal line (supply is on, tank just hasn't filled yet), and check the float valve moves and shuts the inlet when full.If the tank has water but nothing reaches the taps, the problem is the pump or a valve after the tank — not the supply.
- Confirm the pump has power and runsGo to the electrical panel and find the pump's breaker. If it's tripped, reset it. Listen for the pump running when you open a tap. If it won't run at all with the breaker on, stop — this is now an electrical/pump fault that needs a plumber.Don't run the pump with an empty tank and leave it spinning dry — it will burn itself out. Fill the tank first.
- Check the valves: main and localFind the main stop valve where water enters the house and make sure it's fully open (clockwise closes, anticlockwise opens). Then check the small valve under the basin or behind the cistern that has no water.Old valves can look open while they're half-shut — close it fully, then open it fully once; that sometimes frees the seized part.
- Clean the aerator if it's a single tapIf just one tap is weak or dry, unscrew the aerator from its tip (by hand, or gently with an adjustable spanner and a cloth to protect the chrome). Soak it in vinegar for an hour, scrub the sediment with a toothbrush, and refit it.Run the tap briefly with the aerator off — if it gushes, the clogged aerator was definitely the culprit.
- Bleed the air if the water returns spittingIf supply is back but the water spits and knocks, open the lowest tap in the house (usually outside or in a ground-floor bathroom) and leave it running until the air clears and the flow steadies, then open the other taps one at a time.Open taps from the lowest point upward through the house — the air clears faster and more smoothly.
- (Winter) thaw a frozen pipe gentlyIf you suspect a freeze on a frost night, find the exposed length of pipe (on the roof or an outside wall). Wrap it in warm cloth or use a hairdryer from a distance, working from the tap end toward the pipe. Leave the tap slightly open so water flows as it thaws.Never use a naked flame or a powerful heat gun — sudden heat cracks the pipe. Gentle, gradual warmth only.
Tools & parts you'll need
When to call a professional
Stop and call a plumber if: the pump has power but won't run at all, or spins without lifting water (it usually needs repair or replacement); there's a pool of water or wet ground over the buried line between the meter and the house (a sign of a burst pipe underground); or the problem is on the mains before your meter (that's the water department's job, not yours). And never try to dig down to a buried pipe or work on the meter side yourself — that needs a licensed plumber and sometimes coordination with the utility.
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The water stopped across the whole house at once — what do I do first?
Before anything, ask a neighbour: if they're also without water, it's the utility or the supply and there's nothing to fix — you just wait or call the water department. If the neighbours have water and you don't, the problem is yours: check the tank, the pump, and the main valve, in that order.
The tank has water but nothing comes from the taps — why?
That means the supply is fine but there's a problem lifting water from the tank into the house. Most likely: the pump breaker has tripped, the pump is switched off, or a valve after the tank is closed. Check the breaker first — the easiest and cheapest cause. If the pump has power and still won't run, that's where you need a plumber.
One tap has no water but the rest are fine
That's a local problem, not the main supply. Almost certainly either the aerator (the mesh at the tap's tip) is scaled up and clogged — unscrew and soak it in vinegar — or the small valve under the basin is partly closed. Try both; the fix takes minutes and no plumber.
The water came back but it spits and knocks
That's air trapped in the pipes after the cut, and it's completely normal. Open the lowest tap in the house and leave it running for a minute or two until the air clears and the flow steadies, then open the other taps one at a time. It sorts itself out.
In winter the water stops in the morning and returns by noon — is that normal?
In the Amman highlands with sub-zero nights, that's usually a freeze in an exposed pipe that thaws as the day warms. The permanent fix: insulate exposed pipes on the roof and outside walls with lagging before winter. Frozen pipes can burst, so insulating spares you a much bigger problem.
I filled the tank but the pump spins without lifting water
If the pump runs but no water comes through, it may have lost its prime (there's air in it), its valve may be faulty, or it's failed. Some pumps have a priming port you fill with water by hand. If you're not familiar with this type, this is the point to bring in a plumber — either to prime it or replace it.