Things to do for the home before leaving for a month

[Kim Gass]

pay to have driveway plowed and walks shoveled.

If you don't turn off the water heater turn the washing machine water supply off. Its amazing how that hose goes at the worst time.

We have hot water heat so leave it on. Some of our neighbors gone for months drain the whole system and fill with antifreeze to allow the house to withstand -40. But its a pain to recharge the house if arriving home at subfreezing.
Our genny is serviced and a backup setting on the heat pumps keeps the temps at 55 if the furnace( hot water) fails. We did have burst pipes one year when the furnace malfunctioned at -20 and a neighbor caught it quick and turned off the water and drained the system. Thats one reason we now have three mini split heat pumps and a standby automatic generator.

Don't let your house look unoccupied. Some people around here do and its an easy mark for unscruplous snowmobilers

[Bayoutalker]

Originally Posted by TWP723

Turn the HWH off. No reason to have it keeping a tank full of water warm on a constant basis. I turn mine off often with no problems. Thermo to 60. Clean out the refrigerator. I don't turn off the water, there's no need to. Treat your home the same way you would leaving it for a week.

Always keep the refrigerator at normal temp, regardless of how long you're away. A closed refrigerator retains the cold for a good long time. It's on all the time anyway, right? To be honest, there's really no need to adjust or turn off the HWH. It runs 24/7/365 on a normal basis. I still turn it off because it doesn't run at all. But it doesn't take anymore energy to maintain 140 degrees or 50 degrees. They are well insulated and retain heat very well.

I disagree with not turning the water off. I had a pipe blow off a faucet at night and before we caught it it had flooded the bedroom, bathroom and basement and was running into the street. We were home at the time. I'd hate to see what it would have been if we were gone for a month.

I'd also turn off any gas appliances. If a pilot goes out you don't want the house filling up with gas.

[Isaacs]

Snowbird here; we leave our house every winter. I've positioned a water shutoff so that everything in the house is off except for my water powered backup sump pump. Don't need to come home and find someone turned on an outside faucet or a toilet malfunctioned. At the very least, turn your toilet supply valves off. Hot water tank is on vacation or pilot. I dump some cheap baby oil into the toilets so the water doesn't start to evaporate and leave a nasty ring--works great.

[travelingjw]

Warn you family not be post "trip photos" on social media while gone. Can't tell you how many stories from our PD about break-in's while people are on vacation. We have two variable timers for our lights so if someone is casing the neighborhood they will not see the lights go on and off at the same time every day.

[ctardi]

When I was 17-20ish years old, a family friend used to always get me to stay in their house when they were away on long trips. They'd fill the freezer with frozen pizzas as payment, and I'd enjoy staying away from my parents. I had phone numbers for their family members that could come if something went wrong with the house, sometimes they would call to check in if they thought of it. Might be another idea to try out if you have friends or family with a responsible teen, we are planning to do the same with our niece this summer.

[JFlightRisk]

snip...[QUOTE=Isaacs;1020286 everything in the house is off except for my water powered backup sump pump.[/QUOTE]

My FIL has a water powered sump backup also, and the last time he snowbirded in Florida the float dropped off and it ran for an unknown period of time. We received an urgent call from the village offices telling us There's a problem at his house, and there's been 80,000 gallons of water through the meter.

When I got done repairing it, that float will never come apart again.

[Mr Bee]

If you ever come home to a floor full of water because a line popped you will thunk differently. I dont drain the lines however, its only a 1/4 turn valve to shut off the supply.

[Isaacs]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

snip...

My FIL has a water powered sump backup also, and the last time he snowbirded in Florida the float dropped off and it ran for an unknown period of time. We received an urgent call from the village offices telling us There's a problem at his house, and there's been 80,000 gallons of water through the meter.

When I got done repairing it, that float will never come apart again.

I should check mine--thanks!

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by Isaacs

I should check mine--thanks!

His float was long and skinny, and there was an upper and lower rod that screwed together in the middle. It apparently vibrated apart over time and the float dropped off, letting the flow valve open just like the float would if it had lifted up. The water it released was constantly pumped out by the electric pump. I reassembled the float rod with LocTite. I hope your water powered pump has a better arrangement. This one is probably from the '60s sometime.

[Parcany]

When we leave for a week I turn off the hot water heater and also turn the water off. still keep the water going to our spigit for watering the plants outside. Makes little sense to me to keep the water heater on with no water going to it. Could be wrong. My .02 cents

[Dave A]

Lot of good suggestions! We leave home for months at a time and it can really get cold at home. I installed a thermostat that allows me to check it from my cell phone. It shows the actual temp in the home as well as thermostat settings.

Usually check it once a day. Any problems, call the neighbor. Makes me sleep better.

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by Parcany

When we leave for a week I turn off the hot water heater and also turn the water off. still keep the water going to our spigit for watering the plants outside. Makes little sense to me to keep the water heater on with no water going to it. Could be wrong. My .02 cents

X2, why take any chances even for a week when it's so easy to just shut off the water.

[garywilson]

Looks like you've got it covered.

Daughter waters plants, neighbor picks up mail and feeds the cat. If the cat dies before we do, we'll replace him with a goldfish. Trip time, we'll put the fish in the freezer. PetSmart will exchange dead fish.

I wouldn't worry about pilot lights- if it goes out, the gas goes off. Heat in the house is important. If the house blows, the lot will already be cleared and ready for a re-build.

Ref water, I always shut it off (preferably at the meter. If not, in the yard). Failure to do so can get expensive.

My dad was gone, water line broke (PVC) in the yard. Fortunately it shot about 15' in the air so a neighbor noticed and shut it off.
My toilet started running. I got home a few days later, paid the extra $200 water bill.
Neighbor has a sunken living room. Water dept shut off water to repair a line. When they turned it back on, neighbor's water fitting blew due to sudden pressure. Water ran out the door when they opened it. Water dept says 'tough luck'.

Enjoy your trip!

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by TCNashville

X2, why take any chances even for a week when it's so easy to just shut off the water.

Its a bit more involved here in the winter where temps don't get above freezing for a few months. If you shut off the water you have to drain the water lines, blow them out and fill bottom of toilet, traps and dishwasher and washing machine with anti freeze.. Just like winterizing an RV only a lot bigger scale.

Water leak detectors that send alerts to your phone are available.

[Bayoutalker]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Its a bit more involved here in the winter where temps don't get above freezing for a few months. If you shut off the water you have to drain the water lines, blow them out and fill bottom of toilet, traps and dishwasher and washing machine with anti freeze.. Just like winterizing an RV only a lot bigger scale.



Water leak detectors that send alerts to your phone are available.

Is that still necessary if the house is heated? I don't even do that in my RV.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Bayoutalker

Is that still necessary if the house is heated? I don't even do that in my RV.

You can't heat our house without the water. It is a hot water fueled system. You shut off the water you shut off the heat.

Power going out from an ice storm is the chief culprit of no heat. in 1998 the outage lasted three weeks. If you aren't there to stoke the wood stove you have no heat.

Where you live matters.. Its a lovely snow today.. 10 inches expected and it does not disrupt us one bit at home!

[Nature Ist]

Originally Posted by osbornk

I was an insurance adjuster for 31.5 years and the most expensive claims I handled (other than large fires) were water claims. The large water claims were where a water pipe or washing machine hose burst while the people were not at home. I always turn my water off (really, turn off my well pump) and turn the water heaters off if I am going to be gone more than a couple of days (because you won't want the water heater on with the water turned off). Some of the largest claims I had were where the washer was in an upstairs hall or closet and the hose burst (instructions say to always them the faucets off but very few do). I've had claims reported when the neighbors saw water running out the exterior door.

I could not agree more with the the habit of turning the water off! I shut off the well pump, turn off the main water valve and relieve the pressure out of the system. I do this if we are gone for more than an overnight. We also have an alarm system including remote thermostat control, lighting control, garage door opener control, and most importantly - low temperature and water sensors at several locations such as under the water tank and water heater and washing machine!
I know three acquaintances who had very expensive cases of water damage while homeowner was away. Various causes including: burst toilet supply line, air conditioner condensate drain line clogged (summer in Florida), and a household refrigerator ice maker that stuck in the fill position and flooded two levels over a matter of days. Obviously, turning off the heating source for the water heater is mandatory if the water supply is off.
For those with hot water heating systems, the auto-fill supply to the boiler can be isolated from the rest of the plumbing system to allow a supply in the event the boiler is losing water; however, that indicates a problem in its system. The exception would be a steam heating system, though they are very rare in residential heating systems these days.
Of course a key-holder is crucial as well.

[Yooper906]

[QUOTE=
For those with hot water heating systems, the auto-fill supply to the boiler can be isolated from the rest of the plumbing system to allow a supply in the event the boiler is losing water; however, that indicates a problem in its system. [/QUOTE]

I've ran with a propane or wood fired hot water systems for years, around 50. But I always run antifreeze in the system, there are several, I use "No burst", it's not the same as the glycol that folks use for winterizing their RV's. There are other elements in it to help prevent corrosion, etc. Still non-toxic, but no one wants it in the drinking water supply. Anyway, if you have a hot water boiler for heat, make sure you have a back flow preventer on your fill line if using "no Burst or any other safe antifreeze. Boilers can be a sealed system, and they should be. That's what the expansion tanks are for.

I know, long winded.

[Bayoutalker]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

You can't heat our house without the water. It is a hot water fueled system. You shut off the water you shut off the heat.



Power going out from an ice storm is the chief culprit of no heat. in 1998 the outage lasted three weeks. If you aren't there to stoke the wood stove you have no heat.



Where you live matters.. Its a lovely snow today.. 10 inches expected and it does not disrupt us one bit at home!

In that case I guess you can't but here most use gas or electric heat so turning off the water is fine. If you lose the heat, you may pop a pipe but with the water off you won't flood the house.

[cwilly8]

To upgrade from our electro-mechanical timers, I bought some Smart Plugs (Govee brand). Now we can set up a schedule that works through our home wifi system (and a phone app) to have various lights cycle on and off to simulate our being home. We can also turn the plugs on and off from wherever we happen to be. (This new-fangled stuff!)

I'll report back after testing them for a couple of days.

I'm also going to buy a water meter shutoff tool, so I can turn off the water at the meter rather than going into the crawl space. This is also extra protection in case there is a pipe break in the yard downstream of the meter.