Community Forums

krsmitty · 05-13-2019, 10:03 AM

Getting ready to take a month long trip out West. Was considering turning off the water to the house...anyone do this? Good, bad practice?

Thanks...

cavie · 05-13-2019, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krsmitty

Getting ready to take a month long trip out West. Was considering turning off the water to the house...anyone do this? Good, bad practice?

Thanks...

Not a bad idea. We had a WH leak while on vacation once,. Neighbor saw it and came over and turned off the water to the house.

Neighbor behind me had a pool pump water leak. Water shooting up in the air. i went over and turned off his water.

Capt Steve · 05-13-2019, 10:09 AM

Every time we leave for a day or more I just close the valve where the water line comes to the house. My irrigation stays on as it is not shut off when I close the house valve. If anything goes south while you are gone, washing machine hoses are notorious for catastrophic failures though toilets can leak as well you are looking at a disaster.

The way I look at it there is no reason not to take 30 seconds and shut the house down as coming home to a flooded house would not be much fun.

As always... opinions and YMMV.

450Donn · 05-13-2019, 10:09 AM

Were on a well, since we also have inground sprinklers I leave the water on. Turn off the water heater, set the AC to something like 75-78 and go

CIDE · 05-13-2019, 10:10 AM

If I turned off my water in the summer, my lawn would die. If that isn't a problem in Florida, I think it's a good idea even though you don't have any possibly of frozen/broken pipes. I also turn off my water heater.

I called my insurance company last year about a winter vacation and was told 1. Turn off the water or we won't cover your losses. 2. Set the thermostat no lower than 55* or we won't cover your losses.

TLGPE · 05-13-2019, 10:15 AM

We are usually gone for longer than a month, but turning off the city water is a good idea, even for a short excursion.

We also pour mineral oil in the drain traps to prevent evaporation. Be sure to turn off the circuit breaker to the water heater to prevent burning that out.

We like to leave the air conditioner set to a minimal level just to keep the humidity under control. Your location may not require that, of course.

We also set off a couple of bug bombs as we are leaving.

Other than that, you should be fine.

Good luck on your travels.

Tom

EdBoz · 05-13-2019, 10:29 AM

Absolutely !! My brother had a major flood when a toilet tank on the second floor developed a crack and the water ran continuously for almost a week until a neighbor saw water running down his driveway. The ceilings and walls, which were all plaster and lath (not drywall) and the hardwood floors on the first floor were beyond repair, and the basement had about 2 feet of standing water, ruining the ceiling, walls and flooring down there, not to mention the appliances and belongings stored there. All in all, about $400,000 in damage and they were unable to live in the house for almost two months.

Personally, we have a separate meter and line for irrigation which we leave on when we're on the road. House service gets turned off, including the water heater and the fridge's ice maker.

krsmitty · 05-13-2019, 10:30 AM

Thanks...always turn of the water heater and turn up A/C. Never have done the water to the house, but thought it might be a good idea.

MSHappyCampers · 05-13-2019, 11:08 AM

We turn off the water any time we will be gone overnight! One time when we were gone for several days someone turned on an outside faucet and our water bill was over $300.00.

Darrel · 05-13-2019, 11:17 AM

Yes!!! Our friends went to Alaska for a month. Their dishwasher broke and their water usage was 50,000 gallons. They had to gut their lower level (black mold had set in) and they spent six months during a Minnesota winter before they were able to move back into their home.

Have a nice day - Darrel

allenb12 · 05-13-2019, 04:53 PM

We turn off the water to the house. Leave the irrigation system on.

riverforest · 05-13-2019, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

We turn off the water any time we will be gone overnight! One time when we were gone for several days someone turned on an outside faucet and our water bill was over $300.00.

well the main water valve is outside also, anyone could turn it back on. think I'll look into valve locks.

hohenwald48 · 05-13-2019, 06:52 PM

I actually installed an electric valve in the main water feed to my house. Whenever we're gone for more than a few hours I just flip the switch on the way out.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1