Shut off water before a vacation

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Trader Joe
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Trader Joe »

eonny wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:14 pm One worries about a flood in one's house during a vacation. Is there any downside to shutting off the water at the main shut off valve before starting your vacation? This would be during a vacation of a week to a week and a half.
No, there is no one that I know personally that worries about this. Especially for only a week and a half.
theplayer11
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by theplayer11 »

all well water in my area and I always turn the breaker off for the well pump.
theplayer11
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by theplayer11 »

Trader Joe wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:21 pm
eonny wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:14 pm One worries about a flood in one's house during a vacation. Is there any downside to shutting off the water at the main shut off valve before starting your vacation? This would be during a vacation of a week to a week and a half.
No, there is no one that I know personally that worries about this. Especially for only a week and a half.
you should. Why risk it?
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mfswatz9
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by mfswatz9 »

We have always shut our water off inside when we go away and have never had a problem until last time. I had turned the ice maker off but when we came home, the line had frozen and we had ice buildup inside the refrigerator that kept leaking onto the floor. I called a repair person and he was able to thaw the line with his hot blower. I'm leaving again in a couple of weeks and will keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't freeze up again. He said if it happened again to turn off the refrigerator for 48 hours to let it thaw. Not a very good solution. We turn the hot water heater to vacation.
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whodidntante
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by whodidntante »

tibbitts wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:19 pm Turning the water off at the street would prevent that problem... but have you checked the amount of torque you need to turn that valve? My valve is new and ... wow you have to crank on that thing. Enough to break something? Maybe, maybe not, but think of what a mess it would be to have that break just as you need to head to the airport.
Get one of these.

https://www.grainger.com/product/31MJ72 ... 30002720:s
galectin
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by galectin »

We shut off the water when we go on vacation at a valve where it comes into the house. We don't turn the water heater off.

In any case, everybody should know where the water shutoff is and make sure that it is operational in case you need to turn off the water in an emergency.
j0nnyg1984
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by j0nnyg1984 »

pshonore wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:27 am How many people flip the shut off valve on washing machines between use? Todays braided hoses are better than the old rubber ones but they still can break and flood the area.
I have ss braided lines and I shut off my washer connections every time a load is done. My mom taught me early. She had a hose blow once while we were on vacation - entire finished basement was full - 6+ Inches of water.
j0nnyg1984
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by j0nnyg1984 »

I had never shut off my main water lines prior to about a month ago, but I have been doing remodeling and temporarily put some shark bite caps on some pex plumbing. I don’t completely trust them, so I have been turning off my main valves on Monday mornings before I fly out for the week.

I will continue this practice once my remodel is complete. Why not? It’s cheap insurance.
criticalmass
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by criticalmass »

TLC1957 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:15 pm
lthenderson wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:51 am
TLC1957 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:22 am I have the cameras in 3 places including in the basement next to the water meter all with a digital thermometer within view of the cameras.
An easier and cheaper way to do the same thing is to just use a smart thermostat with internet connection. I can see the temperature of my home anywhere with my phone and a cell signal. I think some can be programmed to alert you if the temperature dips below a threshold so you don't have to monitor it continuously.
Does your smart thermostat give you a video of who is in your home...lol $25 video camera you get 2 for one an eye on the temperature and who just came into your home. Oh yea does your web connected thermostat tell you if your refrigerator just died??
A remote temperature sensor can send you an alert. We have two alerts, email if temperature gets low, and a phone call if temperature gets really low. Additional sensors can alert you about water outside the hot water tank or refrigerator temperature is too high. I couldn’t care much less about a refrigerator dying when I’m on vacation though, but a frozen home interior or water leak can be catastrophic. Security cameras can provide alerts for movement detected, but temperature sensors work better at sending temperature alerts and cameras do a better job at recording (whatever is covering the face of) an unauthorized person outside or inside.

I shut off water whenever out of the house over 24-48 hours. I shut off washing machine water whenever machine is not operating. Whenever the house water is turned off I ensure gas is at pilot only/vacation and electric tank is OFF. Don’t want to have issues with water expanding without an outside connection on, although I do have an expansion tank. Sometimes I turn off the hot water outlet valve to keep thermal siphons from dissipating residual heat in the tank to save energy and time of reheating water tank.
tibbitts
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by tibbitts »

whodidntante wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:28 pm
tibbitts wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:19 pm Turning the water off at the street would prevent that problem... but have you checked the amount of torque you need to turn that valve? My valve is new and ... wow you have to crank on that thing. Enough to break something? Maybe, maybe not, but think of what a mess it would be to have that break just as you need to head to the airport.
Get one of these.

https://www.grainger.com/product/31MJ72 ... 30002720:s
I have one of those (well, not that model, but a similar design), but the torque required bends the steel it's made of significantly. Eventually the valve gives up but it's nothing like turning the ball valve I have inside the house. And this is a new valve, so no corrosion or other issues. While this model might be stronger, that still means you're putting a lot of stress on the pipes surrounding the valve.
sergio
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by sergio »

I shut off water to the dishwasher, washing machine, all toilets and all faucets. I don't turn off the main. Water heater goes down to vacation mode.
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snackdog
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by snackdog »

I wonder if pressuring the whole system down and abruptly back up again is asking for trouble.

We just use alerts from a water main flow meter (supplied by water company who will also automatically shut off water for us), which worked when we had a toilet with a slow internal leak, and with a few leak D-link water sensors near washer/dryer and major sinks which alert on my phone.
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mancich
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by mancich »

We're on well water. I shut off the valve and also the well tank switch, even if we're gone for a weekend. I'm sure it is overkill but only takes a second to turn them back on. Also put the softener into vacation mode when the water is shut off. Finally, we have a Wyze cam in the basement which detects motion and sound and sends alerts to my phone. It is a cheap solution to keep an eye on things.
Seal the Deal
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Seal the Deal »

sergio wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:44 am I shut off water to the dishwasher, washing machine, all toilets and all faucets. I don't turn off the main. Water heater goes down to vacation mode.
If you have a water powered backup sump pump like me, this seems to be the best option.
2015
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by 2015 »

rkhusky wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:09 pm
2015 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:20 pm
rkhusky wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:52 am Only during the winter. I turn off the furnace humidifier. I don't shut off the hot water heater because its gas and I'd rather not mess with it. If it was electric I would at least dial it down to the lowest setting or maybe turn it off.
I also have gas. Wouldn't the benefit of turning off the gas valve at the HWH be to mitigate explosion/fire during, say, an EQ? I don't know which is why I'm asking.
Might be if that’s a concern where you are. I worry more about losing power and burst pipes in the winter.
Yes. Earthquake is the monster worry in CA even though they're unpredictable.
canderson
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by canderson »

Our plumber advised against it due to pressurizing issues. We always have a cat sitter who needs water to give our cat, wash her hands, clean accidents, whatever.

Honestly I’ve never heard of this until this thread.
mpnret
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by mpnret »

MarkerFM wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:18 pm
mpnret wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:46 am
Skiandswim wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:18 am We always close off water main valve ... "Failure of the plumbing supply system is the #1 cause of non-weather-related water losses" from Chubb.
https://www.chubb.com/us-en/individuals-families/water/

I have investigated remote or automatic water shutoff valves, but have not seen a reliable and reasonable solution yet. Maybe someone has found a nice solution ?
Guardian looks interesting. https://www.getguardian.com/
Costco sells them.
The problem with this is you have to put sensors everywhere. We have a www.flologic.com system in our condo. It detects leaks by watching the water flow and shutting it off if it thinks there's a leak. We've have a few false positives, but that's OK with us.
I did look at flologic and I can't even imagine it working in my house. A condo maybe. Though I would be interested in hearing from anyone with flologic in a home. I can't imagine how it would know a 30 minute water conditioner backwash from a 30 minute flat out leak spurting water everywhere. So many other situations where a appliance flow looks the same as a leak flow at the source. Outdoor faucets, sprinklers, washer and so on.
Smoke
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Smoke »

snackdog wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:14 am I wonder if pressuring the whole system down and abruptly back up again is asking for trouble.

We just use alerts from a water main flow meter (supplied by water company who will also automatically shut off water for us), which worked when we had a toilet with a slow internal leak, and with a few leak D-link water sensors near washer/dryer and major sinks which alert on my phone.
You should have an expansion tank on a water heater tank or nearby, it should handle any abrupt pressure change from no pressure to full.
If in doubt, slowly turn on the water valve. Or turn on a cold water handle in a sink before the whole house valve.
I don't think it's a issue myself, but I could be wrong :D
Arguing for the sake of arguing is something I am not going to engage in.
shell921
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by shell921 »

I did it a year ago when I went on a 2 week vacation. No problem.
stlutz
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by stlutz »

How many people shut off the water when they leave for work every morning?
yogesh
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by yogesh »

This is what reads on my garage wall as 10 point checklist used in last decade.
- Turn off icemaker in refrigerator
- Turn off power to hot water heater
- Turn off breaker for non-essential circuits
- Turn off gas wherever possible
- Drain and turn off water main shut-off valve
- Keep furnace at 62 hold
- Put mail on hold for month long vacations
- Leave a key with neighbor for emergency
- Ensure all windows and doors locked
- Put few lights on automatic routine
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yogesh
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by yogesh »

mpnret wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:13 pm
MarkerFM wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:18 pm
mpnret wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:46 am
Skiandswim wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:18 am We always close off water main valve ... "Failure of the plumbing supply system is the #1 cause of non-weather-related water losses" from Chubb.
https://www.chubb.com/us-en/individuals-families/water/

I have investigated remote or automatic water shutoff valves, but have not seen a reliable and reasonable solution yet. Maybe someone has found a nice solution ?
Guardian looks interesting. https://www.getguardian.com/
Costco sells them.
The problem with this is you have to put sensors everywhere. We have a www.flologic.com system in our condo. It detects leaks by watching the water flow and shutting it off if it thinks there's a leak. We've have a few false positives, but that's OK with us.
I did look at flologic and I can't even imagine it working in my house. A condo maybe. Though I would be interested in hearing from anyone with flologic in a home. I can't imagine how it would know a 30 minute water conditioner backwash from a 30 minute flat out leak spurting water everywhere. So many other situations where a appliance flow looks the same as a leak flow at the source. Outdoor faucets, sprinklers, washer and so on.
Same question on how flologic differentiates a leak versus normal usage?
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fourwheelcycle
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by fourwheelcycle »

Two stories, I'll try to be brief.

1. A house on our street was owned by a couple from Boston who only used it as a ski house during the winter. At the end of one winter they left and did no turn off the water. At some point an upstairs toilet water feed line began leaking and slowly fed water into the upstairs, filtering down through the first floor to the basement. The house was closed up tight and not visited all summer. The resulting greenhouse condition caused water damage and mold throughout the entire house. The house had to be stripped to the studs and completely rebuilt inside! I didn't know the people so I never got any details on cost and insurance claims. They sold the house as soon as the interior rebuild was completed.

2. +1 on the above references to ball valves being more reliable than 20 or 30 year old gate valves. A few years ago we had a town water line burst on our street and I heard a roaring sound coming from our furnace room. The noise turned out to be water running out of our home water line into the town entrance line. I shut off our water and called the town. They advised me to have a plumber come and install a reverse flow preventer in our entrance line, a $250 job. The plumber came and did the job, then pointed out I really ought to have a ball valve instead of an older gate valve in my water line shut-off. OK, another $75. Then he pointed out I had an expansion tank on my furnace's baseboard hot water line but not on my hot water tank, and I really ought to have one. OK, another $250. Then I mentioned I had an exterior water faucet that I was not using because it had frozen when I left a hose attached over the winter and now it leaked into my basement whenever I turned it on. He said he could fix that easily by installing a new faucet (the kind with a drain section that extends back into the house). OK, another $125. All in all, I got a lot of useful improvements but it was an expensive plumbing visit.
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praxis
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by praxis »

Because my goldfish pond needs filling sometimes during a hot summer, I used to leave our main water valve open so my neighbor could stop over and top it off while we were gone for 4 months. Now I always close it.
Stories are common about leaks and the damage. Some of the plumbing in our older house is PVC or poly or PEX and after fitting failures on our water filter and our ice maker, I feel safer closing it. But what about my goldfish?
I showed my neighbor where my main valve is embedded in my turf and marked it for him.
brianH
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by brianH »

renue74 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:49 am I actually have a "water key" in my car at all times. The T looking metal tool that I use to turn water off at the street.

Agree...turn it off at the street. If for some reason your shut off at the house looks dodgy, I would suggest getting a plumber to replace it with a new ball valve shutoff. Cost for something like that around here would be $200 to $400.
I would not recommend using the street-side shutoff except in emergencies. In most areas, this valve is owned by the city/water company. You're supposed to call them to operate it. If you do it yourself and break it (always a possibility with old valves), you'll be buying the WaterCo/City a new valve + installation, paying for any flood damage/wasted water, and probably some fines on top of it.

Have a plumber install a ball valve on your side of the water meter that you own and can operate freely.
MarkerFM
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by MarkerFM »

brianH wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:31 pm
renue74 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:49 am I actually have a "water key" in my car at all times. The T looking metal tool that I use to turn water off at the street.

Agree...turn it off at the street. If for some reason your shut off at the house looks dodgy, I would suggest getting a plumber to replace it with a new ball valve shutoff. Cost for something like that around here would be $200 to $400.
I would not recommend using the street-side shutoff except in emergencies. In most areas, this valve is owned by the city/water company. You're supposed to call them to operate it. If you do it yourself and break it (always a possibility with old valves), you'll be buying the WaterCo/City a new valve + installation, paying for any flood damage/wasted water, and probably some fines on top of it.

Have a plumber install a ball valve on your side of the water meter that you own and can operate freely.
Agreed. In a house we used to own in an area used primarily by summer residents, we had the plumber turn off the water and drain the house in the fall after irrigation was no longer needed. After a number of years, we got a call from the local water company guy, who was cranky by nature, reaming us out for using "his" shut-off valve. We had no idea how the water was being turned off, but apparently the plumber for years had been using the water company's valve since we didn't have one of our own. The cranky old guy threatened to shut off our water for good. Had he done that, of course he would have been slapped upside the head with a lawsuit, but we had the plumber install a shut-off valve near the house and all was fine after that.
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unclescrooge
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by unclescrooge »

renue74 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:52 am
mpnret wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:46 am
Skiandswim wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:18 am We always close off water main valve ... "Failure of the plumbing supply system is the #1 cause of non-weather-related water losses" from Chubb.
https://www.chubb.com/us-en/individuals-families/water/

I have investigated remote or automatic water shutoff valves, but have not seen a reliable and reasonable solution yet. Maybe someone has found a nice solution ?
Guardian looks interesting. https://www.getguardian.com/
Costco sells them.
That's nice!

I've looked at the Phyn water detection system as well. But it's $850. https://www.phyn.com/

Phyn will actually identify all the fixtures in your house by the unique water hammer (vibration of water after an immediate shutoff)....and then tell you if any of your fixtures are using larger than normal amounts of water. (In addition to being a shutoff system)

I think it also tracks usage by fixture...so you could go to your kids and be like, "Hey...last month you used 2000 gallons of water in the shower!"
I would love to tell my wife she uses to much water, but unfortunately our fixed cost is $110/month and consumption is only $25. Apparently we use 1/4th of what out neighbors use. So if anything I should encourage her to use more :mrgreen:

But this looks interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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whodidntante
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by whodidntante »

stlutz wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 2:46 pm How many people shut off the water when they leave for work every morning?
True. Nine hours+commute time is plenty of time for water damage from a ruptured pipe, washing machine hose, or water heater.
Ostentatious
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Ostentatious »

if you have a fire sprinkler system installed in your house, should you be turning off the water supply? I suppose that would not be a good idea.
Yarlonkol12
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Yarlonkol12 »

Bumping as I was searching for if I should/shouldn't shut off water on long trips, have always done this in the past. However, whenever we get home I do wonder if it causes any damage or stress to the plumbing

brianH wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:31 pm
renue74 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:49 am I actually have a "water key" in my car at all times. The T looking metal tool that I use to turn water off at the street.

Agree...turn it off at the street. If for some reason your shut off at the house looks dodgy, I would suggest getting a plumber to replace it with a new ball valve shutoff. Cost for something like that around here would be $200 to $400.
I would not recommend using the street-side shutoff except in emergencies. In most areas, this valve is owned by the city/water company. You're supposed to call them to operate it. If you do it yourself and break it (always a possibility with old valves), you'll be buying the WaterCo/City a new valve + installation, paying for any flood damage/wasted water, and probably some fines on top of it.

Have a plumber install a ball valve on your side of the water meter that you own and can operate freely.
Interesting comment, I never thought this would be an issue, I guess I'll call our local water company and ask them. I don't think ours minds as their website FAQ actually has a question about how residents can turn their water off at the meter, and it includes a diagram with instructions, but I think your idea of just getting a reliable ball valve installed is probably better/safer, keep the meter valve for emergencies only
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59Gibson
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by 59Gibson »

I do turn the water off from inside while away for a few days, never touch curb shutoff. I also put water heater on low or vacation.
But as others said, one could leave to go to the store for an hour or 2 and come back to a foot of water or more. A 8-10hr workday is enough time to fill the house to the roof. :D
Yarlonkol12
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Yarlonkol12 »

59Gibson wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 8:30 pm I do turn the water off from inside while away for a few days, never touch curb shutoff. I also put water heater on low or vacation.
But as others said, one could leave to go to the store for an hour or 2 and come back to a foot of water or more. A 8-10hr workday is enough time to fill the house to the roof. :D
I have a gate valve in our house we could use instead, I guess I'll do that for our upcoming trip. For some reason I was always worried it would fail and leak externally while we were gone, but I think me breaking the city water meter on accident is more likely
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KeepGrowing
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by KeepGrowing »

Recently, I was away for about 2 months. I turned the water main off, but neglected to turn off the valves at the washing machine. Shortly after returning and turning the water back on, I opened the laundry closet door to find the washing machine full of water. The water had also overflowed into the pan below the washing machine. So now I turn the valves to the washing machine off whenever it is not in use.
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snackdog
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by snackdog »

My parents and I returned from church one Sunday and heard water running in the crawl space. My mom said "that noise was going all night!". My father turned white. We opened the trap door to the crawl space and the water was about an inch from the floor boards. Oh dear.

My spouse and I once returned from 10 days in Australia to a gusher of water emanating from under our wooden front porch. We were horror-struck imagining the chaos inside the house (first home). Luckily, it was a leak on the city side under the porch which didn't affect anything.

The neighbors said they had no idea how to reach us but had called the city, which did nothing.

Now we turn off the water valve when away for more than a few days. I would like to get a FLO by MOEN but can't find the interior water inlet pipe in this stupid house.
Last edited by snackdog on Mon Jul 04, 2022 2:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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MGBMartin
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by MGBMartin »

KeepGrowing wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:17 pm Recently, I was away for about 2 months. I turned the water main off, but neglected to turn off the valves at the washing machine. Shortly after returning and turning the water back on, I opened the laundry closet door to find the washing machine full of water. The water had also overflowed into the pan below the washing machine. So now I turn the valves to the washing machine off whenever it is not in use.
I don’t turn off my main water supply but I always used to shut off the faucets to the washing machine as I’ve seen what happens when the hoses bust. I do have braided lines but still don’t trust them.
One time after I returned from vacation I turned the faucets back on.
Fast forward a month or two later and I noticed some water on the floor of the guest bedroom. Upon further investigation it seemed water was coming up from under the wood floor.
All kinds of horrible ideas were running through my head as to the cause.
I eventually figured out that one of the washing machine shut off’s was dripping very slightly around the stem dripping down the pipe into the wall between the laundry room and guest bedroom and finding it’s way under the floor.
A month or so of it was enough completely ruin the floor which had to be replaced. The leak was so small and at the rear of the shut off I had not noticed it when turning back on.

I guess the shutting off and back on broke whatever seal or packing was holding before.
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willthrill81
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by willthrill81 »

KeepGrowing wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:17 pm Recently, I was away for about 2 months. I turned the water main off, but neglected to turn off the valves at the washing machine. Shortly after returning and turning the water back on, I opened the laundry closet door to find the washing machine full of water. The water had also overflowed into the pan below the washing machine. So now I turn the valves to the washing machine off whenever it is not in use.
How did the washing machine fill with water if the main was turned off? Did all the water in the pipes somehow drain into it? I suppose that's possible with a two-story house.

We turn off the main to our home when we're gone for longer than a few days. We also turn off the water heater and water softener.
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afan
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by afan »

We have always turned off the water main when away overnight. Did not turn it off everyday when we went to work.

10-12 hours of a fast leak could do a lot of damage.

We had one big leak, but it occurred overnight while we were home. I still don't know how they did it, but my spouse woke up, knew something was wrong and we found a flood in our unfinished basement. It took hours to vacuum up the water and a long time to dehumidify. Had it been on the first floor it would have been a disaster.

We have a Flo by Moen system that turns off the water if it detects too high a volume of water usage. It took it a while to learn our usage pattern but now works great. If we are going to do an unusually large amount of water, we put it to sleep temporarily. We get a discount on homeowners insurance for having it.

We do not have any high volume automatic water systems- don't use a sprinkler system or water softener.
Last edited by afan on Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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KeepGrowing
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by KeepGrowing »

willthrill81 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:03 am
KeepGrowing wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:17 pm Recently, I was away for about 2 months. I turned the water main off, but neglected to turn off the valves at the washing machine. Shortly after returning and turning the water back on, I opened the laundry closet door to find the washing machine full of water. The water had also overflowed into the pan below the washing machine. So now I turn the valves to the washing machine off whenever it is not in use.
How did the washing machine fill with water if the main was turned off? Did all the water in the pipes somehow drain into it? I suppose that's possible with a two-story house.
Washing machine is on top floor of townhouse. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about such things, but I was thinking it may have occurred due to the water/pressure when I turned the water main back on and perhaps a problem with the water inlet valve on the washing machine. (I replaced the washing machine.)
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by TLC1957 »

I turn the water off AND open the basement sink faucet and top floor bathroom faucet to drain the pressure. When I return I close the basement and bathroom sink faucet and then open the main valve slightly and fill the system slowly. Once filled I then open the highest and lowest faucet to get the air out of the system. My city water pressure is about 65 psi. You do not want to just open the water valve full the water hammer can cause damage.
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by willthrill81 »

KeepGrowing wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:02 am
willthrill81 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:03 am
KeepGrowing wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:17 pm Recently, I was away for about 2 months. I turned the water main off, but neglected to turn off the valves at the washing machine. Shortly after returning and turning the water back on, I opened the laundry closet door to find the washing machine full of water. The water had also overflowed into the pan below the washing machine. So now I turn the valves to the washing machine off whenever it is not in use.
How did the washing machine fill with water if the main was turned off? Did all the water in the pipes somehow drain into it? I suppose that's possible with a two-story house.
Washing machine is on top floor of townhouse. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about such things, but I was thinking it may have occurred due to the water/pressure when I turned the water main back on and perhaps a problem with the water inlet valve on the washing machine. (I replaced the washing machine.)
That's interesting. It sounds like there was an internal problem with the washing machine and one of the internal valves failed. If so, turning off the valve to the washing machine would have prevented the problem, but as soon as you turned the valve back on, the problem would have still occurred, though perhaps you would have noticed it right away.
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by dachshunddad »

If you have a hot water recirculating pump: Unplug and close your water recirculating pump if you shut off the water. I didn’t and air got into the line (probably from tiny leak) and destroyed my pump. Easy to avoid by unplugging and closing the recirculating line.
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by nedsaid »

eonny wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:14 pm One worries about a flood in one's house during a vacation. Is there any downside to shutting off the water at the main shut off valve before starting your vacation? This would be during a vacation of a week to a week and a half.
Be sure that when you turn the water back on, that you do it slowly. Suddenly turning the water back on can cause leaks wherever you have weak spots in your plumbing. I have a family member who found this out the hard way, fortunately the contractor who was there to fix a plumbing problem was there to fix the newly discovered problem.
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Chuckles960 »

Lots of anecdotes in this old thread, but what are the statistics? Yes, a leak will cause damage, but what percentage of people per year get a destructive leak that happens during their vacation?

We came home from eating out one day to find our kitchen flooded---the water valve to the ice maker had failed. (The wood floor felt faintly rough and warped for about a year before slowly returning to normal.) However, we still go out now and then, and being foolhardy risktakers, we don't turn the water off each time.
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by MGBMartin »

Chuckles960 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:07 pm Lots of anecdotes in this old thread, but what are the statistics? Yes, a leak will cause damage, but what percentage of people per year get a destructive leak that happens during their vacation?

We came home from eating out one day to find our kitchen flooded---the water valve to the ice maker had failed. (The wood floor felt faintly rough and warped for about a year before slowly returning to normal.) However, we still go out now and then, and being foolhardy risktakers, we don't turn the water off each time.
My next door neighbor who lives out of state and just visits a few times a year is an example.
One evening when he was visiting and I saw him taking huge rolled pieces of carpet to the curb.
I thought it was odd as his house was quite new.
I got talking to him the next day and he told me he arrived at the house last evening and when he opened the front door the water came flooding out.
A busted washing machine hose did it.

I won’t tell you about the time his pool guy left the hose running in the pool for a month or more.
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Chuckles960
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Chuckles960 »

MGBMartin wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:57 pm
Chuckles960 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:07 pm Lots of anecdotes in this old thread, but what are the statistics? ...
My next door neighbor who lives out of state and just visits a few times a year is an example...
Yes, lots of anecdotes, but what are the statistics?
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Mel Lindauer »

Here's my routine:
1. Turn off water heater breakers in fuse box;
2. Turn off ice maker in fridge;
3. Shut off water coming into house.
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Artsdoctor
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by Artsdoctor »

Yes, shut off the water going into the house. We keep the outdoor water supply functioning.

Have a check list of things to do being leaving and coming back. That way, it takes about 5 minutes to do everything you want without much of an effort. As others mentioned, turn the water supply to the freezer off as well.

Water heaters, thermostats, all on vacation mode.

This is one of those messes that will most likely not happen to you but if you're one of the unfortunate ones to have it happen, it'll be a mess.
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by iluvzbeach »

I would say that the risk/statistics of this happening are low, but when it happens the damage is high. Such a simple step to take to help avoid a major hassle.

My mom recently had a toilet line break overnight and with the water running for less than six hours it did about $14K in damage. On top of that she had months of inconvenience while the drying, demo & restoration took place. I cannot imagine the damage if she’d been out of town and the leak went undetected for days, weeks or longer.

We travel for a month in winter and turn off the water & water heater while we’re gone. Takes less than five minutes and gives us peace of mind.

P.S. I used to work in banking and I can’t tell you how many insurance claim checks I helped customers with…it was a lot. Most common issue besides roof damage was water leaks that occurred while people were away.
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by afan »

Chuckles960 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:01 pm
MGBMartin wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:57 pm
Chuckles960 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:07 pm Lots of anecdotes in this old thread, but what are the statistics? ...
My next door neighbor who lives out of state and just visits a few times a year is an example...
Yes, lots of anecdotes, but what are the statistics?
Insurance companies have the stats. Chubb, for one, makes them public. They tell people to get automatic turn off systems.
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afan
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Re: Shut off water before a vacation

Post by afan »

TLC1957 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:42 am I turn the water off AND open the basement sink faucet and top floor bathroom faucet to drain the pressure. When I return I close the basement and bathroom sink faucet and then open the main valve slightly and fill the system slowly. Once filled I then open the highest and lowest faucet to get the air out of the system. My city water pressure is about 65 psi. You do not want to just open the water valve full the water hammer can cause damage.
Why do you turn off the highest floor faucet before filling them system, then open it? If you leave it open it will purge air as the system fills. Close it once water reaches it.
We don't know how to beat the market on a risk-adjusted basis, and we don't know anyone that does know either | --Swedroe | We assume that markets are efficient, that prices are right | --Fama
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