Turning off water when leaving

[JackMroz]

I have a routine before we leave on any camping trip. I go into the basement and turn the gas water heater to vacation. I turn all valves off that have a braided line out of them off. Like the braided line to a toilet or sink. I turn the ball valve under our main sink that feeds the dishwasher off plus its power switch. Back in the basement I make sure there are no obstacles near our floor drain that leads to the sump pump. That way if a water line springs a leak I'm hopin that water will find its way to the drain which will pump it out to our septic system and hopefully causing minimal damage.

[rjackson]

Originally Posted by JackMroz

I have a routine before we leave on any camping trip. I go into the basement and turn the gas water heater to vacation. I turn all valves off that have a braided line out of them off. Like the braided line to a toilet or sink. I turn the ball valve under our main sink that feeds the dishwasher off plus its power switch. Back in the basement I make sure there are no obstacles near our floor drain that leads to the sump pump. That way if a water line springs a leak I'm hopin that water will find its way to the drain which will pump it out to our septic system and hopefully causing minimal damage.

if going to all that work. if on city water, why not just turn it off at water meter, 1 valve, and done.
if on well turn off pump

[scuba0331]

I hope all of this is done for extended trips not just weekend trips! I have an excellent homeowners policy to take if things like this!

[RAurand]

When we go away, even for a weekend, I shut my main line off.
Yeah, we have home owners insurance, But I would rather spend the $1000.00 deductible on more camping trips than have stuff replaced in my house.

My brother-in-law had a water pipe burst in his house while he was at work and his wife was out shopping. When she came home, it was a real mess. Couldn't imagine what it would have looked like after a weekend.

[vcbice]

Yep, even when we leave just for one night.

Yep, have insurance. But, I really do not want to deal with water damage, BTDT, not fun.

[Cannon]

I just recently started turning off my well and both hot water heaters. I have two 13 yr old 50 gal and knew I was on borrowed time. Thursday my wife called me at work and said her feet got wet in closet. Yep one had busted. lucky she was home and I was able to drain and only had to pull carpet out of closet to dry out. New one has drain pan.

[Parhole1]

Originally Posted by vcbice

Yep, even when we leave just for one night.

Yep, have insurance. But, I really do not want to deal with water damage, BTDT, not fun.

Your absolutely correct. As a GC, I have remodeled many a homes from water damage when people went on vacation for just a few days or weekends. Toilet supply’s are notorious for failing. Don’t forget to flush the toilet to empty the tank..1.6 to 3 gallons in tank to leak even if water is shut off!

[JackMroz]

Not on city water. We have a pump and well giving us some of the best tasting water in the world, at least in my opinion. I need the pump kept on to run our large underground sprinkler system while were gone, plus we need to keep one toilet on for my best bud who cuts our lawn while we're gone...

[Crossingover]

Always turn the house main and ice maker off. Once when we returned we turned it back on and we didn’t realize until the next day that a copper pipe fitting in a back bedroom had sprung a leak (house built in 1984). We had an insurance restoration project after that. We now open a faucet before turning the main back on to minimize the pressure surge in the pipes. We are on municipal water.

[vcbice]

Originally Posted by JackMroz

Not on city water. We have a pump and well giving us some of the best tasting water in the world, at least in my opinion. I need the pump kept on to run our large underground sprinkler system while were gone, plus we need to keep one toilet on for my best bud who cuts our lawn while we're gone...

We had a well that supplied house and yard (only our well water was not that great). So, I left the main pump on, but, turned off the main at the house.

The second reason we did it that way was for fire fighting. The local fire department wanted access to wells and water storage tanks so those were left 'on' for that reason. Yes, we lived well outside the city

[wags999]

Originally Posted by scuba0331

I hope all of this is done for extended trips not just weekend trips! I have an excellent homeowners policy to take if things like this!

you must of never seen the damage water can do, especially sitting for a few days and your whole home will be covered with mold...top to bottom. I had a customer who went on a two week vacation in January, in Chicago. A tri level home, a pipe froze in the upstairs bathroom and burst. Water flowed down all three levels. They had to remove all the drywall, insulation, even siding and roofing due to mold. They figure the water was running for 6 to 8 days..Every personal belonging was also covered in mold. It took over 6 months to rebuild the house..

So yea, the thirty seconds it takes to turn the water off is well worth it, no matter how much insurance you think you have.