Turn off water to the house before leaving?

[CPCruiser4Life]

After 33 cruises and never doing this, my dad, who is a widow, went on a cruise solo for the first time, and lo and behold....came back to $15,000 in damage because a pipe broke.....

[SPacificbound]

We can't turn off the water because our pool and sprinkler system both need water. It depends on individual circumstances.

[gatour]

This more or less happened to us, after we returned from a vacation.

 

We have a water softener in the garage, that has a valve to turn off water to it and thusly the house. doesn't affect the lawn sprinklers.

 

I always turn the valve off before going on vacation. Last year we returned from vacation and turned the water back on. about 3 hours later a flexible hose to our toilet burst. We were home so got things quickly under control (the bathroom had tile floors so almost no damage).

 

My suspicion is the the bathroom that the toilet is in, is the first one on the main line into the house past the cut off valve. By turning off and on the valve over the years. The pressure surge upon turning on the valve had weakened the flexible hose to the toilet.

 

What I do now is turn on the faucet in the the bathroom before turning on the water to the house. I figure this will reduce the initial surge pressure.

 

We turn off the water and the water heater when leaving for more than a few days now.

We don't have a freezing concern in FL but with so many flexible hose connections within the house ( washer , refrigerator , dishwasher , water filters , etc. ) they are common connections that can fail, and flood.

Happened once to us fortunately on the day we returned .

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

Not me. Our thermostat is permanently set to minimum 5 degrees C (41 degrees F), so a flood would be more likely with the water off, not less.

 

How could a flood be "...more likely with the water off..." - a flood ordinarily requires the presence, not absence, of water? And what effect would your thermostat setting have if your heating system failed?

[Kmangel]

We have a separate water cut off for our outside faucet that is found under our kitchen sink. One time my neighbor's outside faucet froze and burst and the cleaning lady discovered the water in the lower level. What a mess. So, yes, we turn off the outside faucets every winter. Which reminds me I need to turn off the faucet before our cruise this weekend!

[dfish]

As we were getting ready to leave on the last cruise, my DW was getting into the vehicle in the garage and said "Wait, I forgot to unplug the washer".

 

She went back into the house, unplugged the washer and dryer, and turned off the water lines to the washer as I waited for her in the garage.

 

Imagine my "glee" when we returned home 7 days later and found that she didn't unplug the dryer... She unplugged the washer AND OUR FREEZER!

 

I spent the rest of my vacation cleaning out and disposing of a freezer load of spoiled meat and then trying to eliminate the stomach-wrenching smells that went along with it.

 

Yay me...

 

I do turn off the water to the washer. I've had the hose to the washer spring a leak before. Fortunately, I was home at the time.

 

I do leave the water on because the friend who brings in the mail also has the chore of flushing the toilet each time (or running the water in the kitchen sink for a few minutes). Last year I was gone for quite a while and the sewer line dried out leaving a plug. There was quite a mess in the basement after I came home and started using the water again.

[Cruisin'Christine]

My husband is a plumber. The last thing he does is turn off the water before we leave the house to go on a cruise. Better safe than sorry!

[Doggielover68]

We always turned off the water ( well) at our last house because it was convenient. Our new house has the shutoff located under the house in a crawl space, so we don't do it. However, we have a pet sitter that comes 3-4 times a day and leave our insurance information with her, as well as a spare house key with a local friend just in case.

 

 

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[DirtyDawg]

For a long time our basement was semi finished. Our three boys hung out down there. They watched TV, played video games, played hockey, etc. We never turned off the water when we went on vacation. We were always was dissapointed that we came back to a dry basement!;)

 

Now that the kids are gone and we have re-done the basement we always turn the water off. :D

[MicCanberra]

How many people recommend turning off the water to the house before leaving for the cruise?

 

Depends on the time away but always turn the water off for the washing machine, the dishwasher and the hot water system. I also unplug most appliances in case of a power surge.:D

[BridgeMates]

We always turn off the water when going on vacation.

We've had two water leaks but luckily we were home when they happened.

First was a tiny leak in a hot water pipe behind a built in bookcase that caused the water to go down under the foundation and I didn't discover it until I stepped into the study and the carpet was sopping wet. House was about 10 yrs. old. Some carpentry, drywall, paint and carpet was around $2000.

Second time was more severe. Woke up at 2a.m. to go to the bathroom and stepped down into sopping wet carpet. Water was gushing out of the powder room and flooded several rooms. The small, 6-7 inch water supply line to the toilet had broken off. This was a large claim as they had to replace carpeting in several rooms and since we no longer had any of the original tiles, they had to retile the kitchen and baths. We got a warning from the Insurance Co. that we'd still have coverage but that most companies would have dropped us. House was about 22 years old. Claim was in the $1,000's. I can only imagine how much damage it could have been if I hadn't woken up. We felt lucky that we didn't have damage to the furniture from sitting in wet carpet for several hours.

We have moved into a small house with a tankless water system and we intend to turn off the water when we go out of town. Friends have had water damage from water heaters and pipes under the sink in the kitchen which caused all the cupboards to be replaced.

[Kartgv]

We don't turn off our water because our garden plants are on timer drip systems that run off the house water, not a separate line. We'd come home to all dead plants. We do turn off the water to the washer, unplug all appliances except the refrigerators, and set the thermostat to about 60 degrees in winter, 78 degrees in summer (after we came home to melted candles, chocolate, and medicine capsules one time!).

[rob in cal]

We always turn water off. Its so easy to do and gives you some peace of mind. Water problems are bound to happen to at least some of us and you never know when. No down side to doing this that I know of.

[Multi-Cruiser]

I ALWAYS turn the water off before leaving on a cruise. On a recent cruise a fellow cruiser didn't and he returned to a flooded house. It just makes sense to me, unless there is some particular reason that you can't.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

Turn off all the lights and lock the doors as well. One time when my son arrived to check over the house and stay the night, he had lots of issues as nothing was working.:eek:

[buckeye rob]

About 8 years ago we came home in the evening and the kitchen ceiling was on the floor. An upstairs toilet supply line had burst and ran for hours. Can't imagine if it had been running a week or so ! $20G. I always turn off the main water now upon leaving for more than a few days. Don't forget to turn off the water heater also. We also have an instant hot water heater under the sink at the tap. Unplug those also. When the thermostat would call for heat on those appliances they can boil the water out of the tank. Regards Gerry.

[celebrity]

I've never shut off my water but I will from now on. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you also supposed to open the faucets to reduce pressure when you turn the water back on?

[MicCanberra]

An alternative is to get a house sitter I suppose.

[Multi-Cruiser]

I've never shut off my water but I will from now on. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you also supposed to open the faucets to reduce pressure when you turn the water back on?

 

 

When I turn off the main I don't always open a faucet, figuring that if there is a leak only the little bit of water that's in the pipe will get out, but it's probably not a bad idea.

 

 

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Edited December 16, 2016 by Multi-Cruiser

[tustin3]

We live on a farm also, the well has to stay on for the livestock but I shutoff the toilets, hot water heater, and washer water.

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

I've never shut off my water but I will from now on. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you also supposed to open the faucets to reduce pressure when you turn the water back on?[/quote

 

Turning off the water to protect against pipes freezing is important, but simply opening a faucet may not be enough - you want to drain the pipes by opening a drain cock at the LOWEST point in the system. You also want to put alcohol in the toilets to protect them against freezing.

[tip]

Okay, I certainly understand the issue here. I had a good friend who went on vacation in the summer no less and the hose to his ice maker broke and flooded the house. By the time he returned a week or so later, the house was flooded, mold was everywhere, and not only did it cost him thousands, but his house was uninhabitable for months.

 

I have always turned off the water heater, washing machine connections, along with the toilets and have left cabinets under the sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms open to allow heat to enter.

 

My problem is that we live in the boonies and are not on public water. We have a well. I am concerned that if I shut the water off, I will mess up my pump. Does anyone have any experience with this or could they provide me with advice here?

[Doggielover68]

Okay, I certainly understand the issue here. I had a good friend who went on vacation in the summer no less and the hose to his ice maker broke and flooded the house. By the time he returned a week or so later, the house was flooded, mold was everywhere, and not only did it cost him thousands, but his house was uninhabitable for months.

 

 

 

I have always turned off the water heater, washing machine connections, along with the toilets and have left cabinets under the sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms open to allow heat to enter.

 

 

 

My problem is that we live in the boonies and are not on public water. We have a well. I am concerned that if I shut the water off, I will mess up my pump. Does anyone have any experience with this or could they provide me with advice here?

 

 

The pump will be fine. When we had a well, we shut off the water main near the well pressure tank. In the event of a water leak inside of the house if the water is still on, the pump will continue to run and run until it burns out. If the water is off, it won't run. If you are concerned about it running, you could always shut off the well pump at the breaker box

 

 

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[davekathy]

Okay, I certainly understand the issue here. I had a good friend who went on vacation in the summer no less and the hose to his ice maker broke and flooded the house. By the time he returned a week or so later, the house was flooded, mold was everywhere, and not only did it cost him thousands, but his house was uninhabitable for months.

 

I have always turned off the water heater, washing machine connections, along with the toilets and have left cabinets under the sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms open to allow heat to enter.

 

My problem is that we live in the boonies and are not on public water. We have a well. I am concerned that if I shut the water off, I will mess up my pump. Does anyone have any experience with this or could they provide me with advice here?

 

I would contact the manufacture of the pump and ask the question.

[cruiseonthebrain]

How many people recommend turning off the water to the house before leaving for the cruise?

 

We always turn the water off- even if we are just going to be gone for a few days.