Locking up your house

[BosoxI]

I have a question for anyone who turns off everything in sight when they go out of town due to fear of leaks, fire, etc. Do you do the same thing when you go to work in the morning or leave home for more than a few hours? It doesn't take long for any of these things to happen and they're no more likely to happen when you're out of town for a few days than if you just leave the house for two hours. A lot of damage can happen in an hour due to leaks. Also, anyone breaking in, stands just as good a chance of getting everything they want in a few minutes. I just think people have a false sense of security because they turn off the water or a few appliances while they're on vacation. It's more about making you feel better than actually making a difference. There's nothing wrong with taking sensible precautions with security, but as for turning off stuff, your odds are the same whether you're in town or not.

 

Uhhh, if a pipe breaks while I'm at work, it will run for hours; if the same pipe breaks while I'm on a 7 day cruise, it will run for days. Seems to me a simple enough precaution to take. I and many others, I suspect, have heard of horror stories due to broken pipes. In my own case I have owned 4 houses and every one of them-everyone of them-has had a water problem. One time it occurred prior to settlement and ran for days due to a bad joint. A poorly installed toilet caused a big problem in a new house, a poorly installed shower control did the same in a vacation home, and most recently we were treated to a frozen pipe in an unheated area we didn't even know contained a water line. It's not a question of playing the odds; it is a question of a problem being discovered or averted while on vacation. A no brainer as far as I'm concerned, especially for people living in cold areas during the wintertime.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Another big problem area is to make sure you turn the water off to the washing machine..

 

When I finish my laundry for the week, I always turn off the water to it and unplug the washing machine. And I always pull the plug on the dryer as well.

[ikitravelers]

Response Here:

 

1. In my utility district, "shut-off" of the water at the meter doesn't realize the greatest savings if done by the homeowner. When done by the water department staff & locked "off", then their are a number of additional "fees" deducted besides no water use savings. Call & check, maybe your water district is different.

 

2. Regarding homeowners insurance coverage for an unoccupied home. In the United States, some companies are not concerned. I don't know why. I clearly tell my insurance company the dates when away over 30 days, but other than "Have a nice vacation," they don't seem to care.

[dustyroad]

i am lucky and have my landlords living right next door. they keep an eye on the house and collect my mail and paper. my car is parked in the drive since i have a ride to the airport so it looks like i am home if someone drives by. i also unplug my tv, computer and any '' vampire '' electical plug-ins i wont be using while i am gone. i live across the street from a county jail so i feel pretty safe about everything while i am gone. i have a worry safe cruise as far as the house goes. except for a fire of course :eek:.

[relaxandenjoy]

i live across the street from a county jail so i feel pretty safe about everything while i am gone. i have a worry safe cruise as far as the house goes. except for a fire of course :eek:.

 

Not to mention those escapees looking for a good quick place to hide ;)

[dustyroad]

Not to mention those escapees looking for a good quick place to hide ;)

 

:eek: that is a thought. but they are always kept inside except in handcuffs when they first arrive. im not saying it woudl not happen but if they can find anything in my house worth escaping and hiding out for they can have it. there is always a beer in the fridge :D. i live in a very small town that has drunks caught driving and mainly domestic problem inmates that . my landlord that lives closer too the jail than me is like a '' hawk '' when it comes too knowing what goes on there. yes, it is something too think about, but it has never happened yet. :D.

[relaxandenjoy]

:eek: that is a thought. but they are always kept inside except in handcuffs when they first arrive. im not saying it woudl not happen but if they can find anything in my house worth escaping and hiding out for they can have it. there is always a beer in the fridge :D. i live in a very small town that has drunks caught driving and mainly domestic problem inmates that . my landlord that lives closer too the jail than me is like a '' hawk '' when it comes too knowing what goes on there. yes, it is something too think about, but it has never happened yet. :D.

 

I just couldn't resist. The building I work in also houses a jail and we often joke about "if a prisoner makes it to this side of the wall we'll just show him where the exit is.":D

[dustyroad]

I just couldn't resist. The building I work in also houses a jail and we often joke about "if a prisoner makes it to this side of the wall we'll just show him where the exit is.":D

 

 

hahahaha. same for me. it is a small town and anyone that is in the jail i know anyway. i dont go out of my way to be unsafe but i dont worry too much about it either. i go on my cruise and not dwell on what might happen while i am gone. i lock up, use a timer for the light in the living room and the car is parked in the drive. what will happen will happen and i will deal with it when i get home. so far it is in the same state as when i left. of course i am not saying something, wont happen but so far so good :D

[sapper1]

My in-laws learned that planes flying over can open your garage door too - although that was quite a few years ago and they may have improved the openers now. They got home from vacation to find their garage door open and the installer asked them if planes routinely flew over when they checked with him to find out if something was wrong with the door. So after that they turned the power off whenever they left.

That makes me think of a friend whose garage door used to open every time I drove into her yard. We decided it was the "Onstar" system that was likely causing the problem. She had the same thing happen every Sunday when people attending a nearby church would park in front of her house.

Eventually she just bought a new opener and the problem was solved.

[PennyAgain]

Response Here:

 

1. In my utility district, "shut-off" of the water at the meter doesn't realize the greatest savings if done by the homeowner. When done by the water department staff & locked "off", then their are a number of additional "fees" deducted besides no water use savings. Call & check, maybe your water district is different.

 

2. Regarding homeowners insurance coverage for an unoccupied home. In the United States, some companies are not concerned. I don't know why. I clearly tell my insurance company the dates when away over 30 days, but other than "Have a nice vacation," they don't seem to care.

 

In my water district, the re-start service fees would negate any possible savings.

 

My insurance company does care very seriously about leaving a house unattended. In fact every time you call with a question, they record the call! Comforting isn't it?

[rjm1cc]

Good idea to do what you do. We can turn the water off from inside our house. I would consider having a plumber putt in an inhouse turnoff if it is expensive to do the street turn off (and probably inconvient gettin it on and off) and you will be traveling alot. I would also turn off the hot water heater and flush the toilts after the water is turned off. You want to drain the tank in case the frunace goes out and you have freezing weather. I woudl also open all the facuts to drain out as much water as possible.

Having someone stop in is a good idea. Maybe a neighbor can stop buy and also pick up any circulars dropped off also.

[Gathina]

I read something on MSN recently about how people make themselves targets for crime by posting things like this on public websites, or on Facebook like "gone on vacation for two months". I guess all of you guys who posted tips just made yourselves targets!! LOL

[klauer]

What can happen if you don't turn off the water to your washing machine? I've had washing machines for over 20 years, and never had anything happen. Are you talking about pipes freezing in an unheated space, or something else?

[PennyAgain]

The water hoses can burst from the water pressure. I have steel wrapped hoses which are supposed to be safer, but we replace them every 5 years.

[klauer]

Yikes -- thanks for the info!

[beachchick]

In my water district, the re-start service fees would negate any possible savings.

 

My insurance company does care very seriously about leaving a house unattended. In fact every time you call with a question, they record the call! Comforting isn't it?

 

Our insurer not only does that, but they treat any call you make to inquire if a situation is covered as an actual, real claim. You call and ask, "Is such and such a covered event?" They say, "No, it's not, but we're considering that you're making a claim anyway." We were not pleased to learn this, firsthand.

 

Good idea to do what you do. We can turn the water off from inside our house. I would consider having a plumber putt in an inhouse turnoff if it is expensive to do the street turn off (and probably inconvient gettin it on and off) and you will be traveling alot. I would also turn off the hot water heater and flush the toilts after the water is turned off. You want to drain the tank in case the frunace goes out and you have freezing weather. I woudl also open all the facuts to drain out as much water as possible.

Having someone stop in is a good idea. Maybe a neighbor can stop buy and also pick up any circulars dropped off also.

 

My parents had one installed years ago, and we just had one installed recently. It's so convenient. The plumber also installed a second turnoff for the yard. We can turn off/on the whole house, the yard, or both. And they're the nice knife valves, instead of the old-fashioned screw (stem) valve like we had before (and which failed when my DH went close it).

 

I read something on MSN recently about how people make themselves targets for crime by posting things like this on public websites, or on Facebook like "gone on vacation for two months". I guess all of you guys who posted tips just made yourselves targets!! LOL

 

Perhaps for some, but not for those of us who don't use Facebook (or anything like that) and don't have blogs and use anonymous listings. Besides, I might mention what we do when we go away, but I don't mention exactly when we're going. Wanting to keep that private is one reason we never join roll calls. We'll do a review when we get home, but we don't want the whole world to know our plans in advance.

 

beachchick

[BosoxI]

What can happen if you don't turn off the water to your washing machine? I've had washing machines for over 20 years, and never had anything happen. Are you talking about pipes freezing in an unheated space, or something else?

 

A plumber once told me that he gets many calls to remedy the problem of broken hoses, usually to install easy to use shut off valves. There are hoses that somehow turn off the water in the event of a problem; we are using them in a rental property at this minute as we don't trust renters to turn off the wall valve. Costs about $35, I think. I don't know how well this type hose works and I certainly don't want to find out. A GE repairman told me not to trust the valves in the washing machine, either. Maybe the trick is to take my clothes down to a stream and beat them on a rock. Turning off the main water line is an absolute necessity when leaving for any length of time. If anything breaks at least it won't flood the house.

[screwsmcernst]

We unplug everything. We turn the water off at the toilets and washer. We stop the mail and newspaper, but most importantly, we have a neighbor check the doors to make sure there aren't any door flyers. We have found that burglars will check that (or even put them there themselves) to see if there is activity at a specific home.

[relaxandenjoy]

I guess the thieves must always think I'm gone. I was so happy to discover that, if I leave the "free papers" in the paper box, they don't put more in. Before that I was bombarded by them. The papers in the box have probably been there for 6 months now.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hubby turns off the water to the house and gives neighbors a copy of the itinerary & phone numbers that I type up before the trip. (Our neighbors will tell us to watch their house too before they leave for even a weekend.) He will often also pull his car into the driveway.

 

Once our neighbors came home after a day away and found their house flooded from a broken toilet. After one cruise, we returned to find our laundry room flooded, but turned out to be from rain water coming in through a door (must have been one major storm).