Turn off water to the house before leaving?

[mary_228]

After our neighbor's house flooded due to burst pipes during a power failure one winter that prevented the house from staying warm, we bleed the pipes. Super fast and easy. I also turn off the ice maker and dump the ice out of the freezer in case of a power failure resulting in the freezer getting warm and ice melting all over the place.

[Hlitner]

When we leave for more then 2 or 3 days we always turn off our main water supply valve as well as our electric hot water heater. We then drain much of the water (in the pipes) by opening a sink valve (on the lowest floor) and an upper floor valve (to enhance flow). This is particularly important in the winter since we live in an area where temps can be well below freezing.

 

For those that disagree, consider being away for a few days (or weeks in our case) and having a pipe rupture (or just start leaking). While rare, it does happen. Water would then flow unabated for weeks. Argh!

 

Hank

[MicCanberra]

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.

 

I do this all the time even when at home and especially in the summer, although I use processed alcohol instead.:p

[TMLAalum]

DH has insisted we shut our water off even if gone away overnight.

 

Shortly after midnight this morning, he went into the kitchen and noticed water on our floor- the piping to the faucet had sprung a leak! Luckily he caught it before it seeped into our finished basement below or ruined our hardwood floors. The rug in front of the sink was soaked. All this occurred from the last time we were in the kitchen @10pm!

 

Had this happened when we were away, the damage would have been horrendous. As it was, we were lucky he found it when he did because we'd have awakened to much worse than it was.

[reedl]

A good friend of mine has multiple houses, and one of them is on Cape Cod. When the house was built about 15 years ago, he put in multiple tankless water heaters. They work well since the only heat when water is needed.

 

About 10 years ago, we had a very windy and cold storm hit Cape Cod which resulted in about 2 feet of wet snow which is not common for the Cape. Anyways, what happened is that one of the tankless water heaters was in a upstair attic and the cold air came in through the exhaust pipe and froze the water in the heater which resulted in the water heater leaking water.

 

It ran for probably a week (since he was not at the house for two weeks).

 

The total damage was in excess of $600,000. There was two feet of water in a basement that was at least 50 feet by 100 feet big. That is a LOT of water.

 

He installed a cool device which turned off the water when the alarm is turned on. The other thing he also did was to install multiple water sensors near every water heater, and device that uses water (washing machine, under the sink, etc.) and if it senses water, it turns off the water supply also.

[reedl]

I leave the water on, the hot water furnace needs water to heat the house.:(

 

if you have baseboard heat which recirculates the water, then you can usually turn off the water supply for a short period of time since the system will not consume that much water.

[biker@sea]

My Dear neighbor came home from vaca to a fully flooded basement from a burst washing machine hose.

 

Had to call and have the fire department pump it out.

 

After a new heat system bill, loss $$$ in other stuff.

2 months later just to top of everything !!

 

Came a $1700 water and sewage bill. :eek:

 

 

.

[davekathy]

I've never turned our main water off for any of our vacations. I've never even thought of doing it until this thread popped up. But after reading some the bad experiences and knowing our house is almost 31 years old has convinced me this is something I need to do. Just added it to the vacation check off list.

[siamesecat2965]

We don't turn anything off as one of the daughter either checks on the cats frequently or stays at the house.

 

What I do that I can't imagine anyone else does is tape the freezer shut. When left alone for extended periods of time I have a cat forgets his manners. He jumps from the top of the fridge to the crows nest above the cabinets. In the process his hind feet kick the freezer door open. We returned from a weekend trip to find defrosted freezer. So now when we leave for overnight the tape is in place. FYI, it is an almost new refrigerator so the seal is good. The monster cat weighs in at almost 20 pounds so he has a powerful kick.

 

Hahaha. Thank you for making me laugh! "forgets his manners" Yes, that's just like a cat.

[buckeye rob]

Just keep feeding him. Another few pounds and his refrigerator leaping days should be over !:) Regards, Gerry. PS I am just joking !

We don't turn anything off as one of the daughter either checks on the cats frequently or stays at the house.

 

What I do that I can't imagine anyone else does is tape the freezer shut. When left alone for extended periods of time I have a cat forgets his manners. He jumps from the top of the fridge to the crows nest above the cabinets. In the process his hind feet kick the freezer door open. We returned from a weekend trip to find defrosted freezer. So now when we leave for overnight the tape is in place. FYI, it is an almost new refrigerator so the seal is good. The monster cat weighs in at almost 20 pounds so he has a powerful kick.

Edited December 20, 2016 by buckeye rob

[LMaxwell]

Take a small piece of tupperware, pint container, etc.

 

Fill with water.

 

Freeze.

 

Put a coin on top.

 

Put in freezer.

 

When you come home, if the coin is not still on top of the ice you know you lost power long enough for your freezer to thaw and all food has to be tossed.

 

 

 

I turn off the water when we leave and turn off the hot water heater; if the connection bursts at least I won't also burn out the heater element.

[flamomo]

I have turned off the water to the house for years, after seeing the fallen-down ceilings in a neighbor's house after a pipe ruptured in the attic and water poured out for an unknown length of time before it was noticed by someone who knew the neighbors had gone out of town, as he was walking by and saw water running down the driveway. The damage was catastrophic.

[mafig]

Always turn off the water.;)

[nacsivmw]

Yes, turn it off, we know too many people who've suffered greatly with extensive water damage, such an easy thing to do and can save lots of money and headaches!

 

 

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[ducklite]

We live in Florida, so no worries about burst pipes. We have someone come in five times a day for the dogs, so it's just not a concern. Plus she needs the water on so she can feed them.

 

Before we were living in the home f/t we would turn off the gas at the main when we left and knew we wouldn't be back for a month. But never the water.

[easyboy]

Take a small piece of tupperware, pint container, etc.

Fill with water.

Freeze.

Put a coin on top.

Put in freezer.

When you come home, if the coin is not still on top of the ice you know you lost power long enough for your freezer to thaw and all food has to be tossed.

Nice technique to follow. Thanks.

[TruckerDave]

This topic is perfect for me.....I am home for a week then away at work for 3 weeks. I NEVER turn off the water. In the summer the ac goes to 78 and this time of year the heat goes to 60 when i leave. (I don't want a hot house when i come home or a cold one in the winter.). In the almost 2 years I have lived in Charleston my elect bill has never been over $60 either. (and that was a month were i took two weeks off and the ac was set a "bit" under 78) The only thing I turn off is the ice maker as I dump the ice into my cooler before i leave and want fresh ice when i get home. :D

[bigcity57]

I had a pipe burst the day I returned from a cruise. Now any time I leave the house even for the weekend I turn my water off.

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

And, if you live in the north, flush some alcohol anti-freeze in the toilets and leave in the tank - a frozen toilet, even with water off, can crack -and spill a fair amount of water.

[Multi-Cruiser]

I turn off the main water valve before I go on vacation. I’ve heard too many stories of people coming home to flooded homes and basements due to leaks and burst pipes. It’s a simple way to prevent coming home to a potential disaster.

 

 

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[YoHoHo]

My house insurance requires that I turn off the water if the house is unattended for more than three days. So if I don't have a house sitter or someone come by and check I always turn the water off.

 

It could be a good idea to check your insurance policy to make sure that you are compliant.

[Hlitner]

And, if you live in the north, flush some alcohol anti-freeze in the toilets and leave in the tank - a frozen toilet, even with water off, can crack -and spill a fair amount of water.

 

That would only be necessary if you had no heat. As long as you heat the house over freezing (we leave ours at 45 when we go away for a long period of time) nothing is going to freeze.

 

Hank

[sloopsailor]

I turn off the main water valve before I go on vacation. I’ve heard too many stories of people coming home to flooded homes and basements due to leaks and burst pipes. It’s a simple way to prevent coming home to a potential disaster.

 

 

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How about when you go to work (if you still do) or visiting friends for the day? If a pipe burst just after you leave, it could be hours before you return back home even for a day trip. A lot of water damage can be done in just a few hours. If you don't turn it off whenever you leave, it doesn't help much if you only turn it off for your once a year vacation. All the pipe has to do is burst the minute you drive away to do the damage, even if you are only doing something as mundane as grocery shopping for a few hours.

 

Our water heater is in the garage. We joined friends for a long day of wine tasting, capped off with dinner and a movie that evening. Sometime while we were away the hot water side of the piping sprung a leak where it connected to the water heater due to a failed fitting, spraying water into the rafters and onto the wall covering, soaking the wall insulation behind it, and drenching all my tools and almost everything stored in the garage on the storage shelves. Hot water does much more damage than cold water. If the leak is just slow enough that the water heater can keep replenishing the hot water flow, you are "steam cleaning" the area with hot water. I remember the insurance adjuster telling me that a continued spray of hot water "melts" many construction materials it comes into contact with, causing much more damage than cold water. I thought that was an interesting word to use, but it was pretty descriptive of what happened to us. We pretty much had to tear out half of the garage and start over. And this after just a day's worth of water damage.

[Doggielover68]

At our previous house, I always turned the water off before going out of town. At our current house, we don't. We have a pet sitter who visits the house 3 times a day and we keep the house heated to the same temperature as when we are home. We live in the south and have a heat pump so it is not expensive to run the heat. We also recently had all of the plumbing replaced, fixtures, shut off valves, etc etc.

 

In summary, if the water shut off is easily accessible and you aren't going to have anyone in the house, turn it off.

 

 

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[Multi-Cruiser]

How about when you go to work (if you still do) or visiting friends for the day? If a pipe burst just after you leave, it could be hours before you return back home even for a day trip. A lot of water damage can be done in just a few hours. If you don't turn it off whenever you leave, it doesn't help much if you only turn it off for your once a year vacation. All the pipe has to do is burst the minute you drive away to do the damage, even if you are only doing something as mundane as grocery shopping for a few hours.

 

Our water heater is in the garage. We joined friends for a long day of wine tasting, capped off with dinner and a movie that evening. Sometime while we were away the hot water side of the piping sprung a leak where it connected to the water heater due to a failed fitting, spraying water into the rafters and onto the wall covering, soaking the wall insulation behind it, and drenching all my tools and almost everything stored in the garage on the storage shelves. Hot water does much more damage than cold water. If the leak is just slow enough that the water heater can keep replenishing the hot water flow, you are "steam cleaning" the area with hot water. I remember the insurance adjuster telling me that a continued spray of hot water "melts" many construction materials it comes into contact with, causing much more damage than cold water. I thought that was an interesting word to use, but it was pretty descriptive of what happened to us. We pretty much had to tear out half of the garage and start over. And this after just a day's worth of water damage.

 

 

 

Let’s see, a few hours worth of water damage vs 7 or 8 days of damage. Hmmmmm.

 

 

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