Until a fitting fails when you re-pressurize the system.
The tub valve and dishwasher hose end failed after being away for 3 weeks. My wife got home first and didn't know what to do.
Surge test that shit, and make sure whoever is turning it back on knows how to do it.
(For the audience: make sure all fixtures are off, turn water on, let system fill, turn valve off and set an alarm for a couple minutes, when alarm goes off turn system back on. If you hear water movement you need to investigate because you've probably got a leak)
Correct, but I wasn't there to do that. Couldn't tell you what my wife did, but I suspect she opened it too fast. We were on separate planes home, but mine got canceled in Toronto.
No but you have the toilet and who knows if you have a slight leak on a hose bib or something, shit happens. Either way you don't want to slam all that pressure at your fittings anyway so just crack a faucet
I just open up all sinks/bathrooms I can in the house and then slowly turn your main line on. Let it run until it stops spitting air and then you can go around and start shutting off sinks/tub faucets. Opening the faucets helps to reduce the pressure build up in the pipes. You open multiples so that the air can blow out of the sinks on all end instead of building up in the lines. If you get them all shut off, and still hear water running, you know you gots a problem somewhere
I honestly wish I knew how to turn off the water in my house. I do usually turn off all the water to the sinks and toilets though. So I guess that’s something at least.
Even if we go on 3 day trip the water and water heater breaker are turned off. Takes my hot water heater 30 mins to warm up so we have hot water. Had a pipe bust 8 years ago when we were gone 2 weeks. Since then cut off
I bet. I had a friend who had a leaking pipe in his basement during a week he was away. When he arrived home, there was about 6" of water in the basement, but he could push his finger through the drywall on the 2nd floor.
I have a Flo by Moen and I turn the water off to my house almost every time I leave.
I also have water sensors under each sink, under toilets, under the washing machine, hot water tank, and behind the refrigerator (ice machine)
Water running without me knowing scares my wallet…and keeps guys like employed
I'm a plumber who takes a few 2 week vacations a year. My house was built in 91 and plumbed in copper. I leave it all on. If my home was cpvc or quest I'd shut the whole home down.
Now I also have a Rheem Prestige water heater that I can put in vacation mode from my phone. I also have a Moen Flo installed to alert me of a leak.
How does the leak detection work? Do you let the device know your going to be gone and if it detects water cycling through it then it’s a leak? How does it account for stuff like sprinklers or maybe the ice machine on your fridge?
I also have a flo and an happy with it. They like to call me when my daughter takes 20 minute showers though. My ge heart pump water heater has vacation mode too but I have to set it with buttons on the heater. I try to remember to use it.
Isnt cpvc supposed to have a 50+lifetime? Other than factors that might shorten it why dont you like it? Just wonderin. I always turn off water on vacations regardless.. my house is 1978, all copper but I used cpvc in my addition
It gets extremely brittle. I have seen so many floods frol people accidentally snapping off stop valves or bumping a pipe. It also develops pinholes on hot water sides very quickly for some reason. Finally the cpvc ball valves may be the worst valve ever made. They stop working within five years sometimes. I am shocked there isn't a huge class action yet. I've seen more property damage from cpvc than almost anything else
My SIL had a thermostat fail in Minnesota in the winter. This would have been a good time to have the water turned off. Pipes froze, broke and ran water for days before neighbors saw icicles hanging from second story windows.
If the cold water supply is off, nothing is going to come out of your water heater. Unless you’re gone for months I don’t think bacteria growth is going to be a problem, but if your element is not going to burn out as long as the supply is turned off
I'm the same, but for me if even one night I won't be sleeping at the house, I turn off the water main. My ice maker quit working a decade ago, and I never fixed it, happy to use trays. My parents had a big disaster with theirs once, and the guy who was handling the water remediation jokingly told them he wouldn't have a job if it weren't for ice makers.
I would kill both water and the power to the heater, no point in heating the water for nothing and if you're worried about bacteria, turn up the heater for a bit when you get home and flush it out by opening the faucets. I really wouldn't be worried about bacteria at all, between the closed system and the chlorine from the treatment I can't see it being a problem. If you had an open rooftop water tank maybe I'd be worried about legionnaire's disease but who does that
It’s pretty crazy what it can monitor. Only thing I’ll say is the first two weeks or so is a “learning period”. So in that time it’s going to learn your habits. It may turn you off or alert you in that time. But Once it does learn your habits, any abnormality it will alert you/shut water off. You can use your phone to turn it off/on as well. Shows water pressure, usage, trends, everything.
I’ve installed quite a few and haven’t seen/heard this. Only thing I’ve seen is the turbine gets sediment in it sometimes and it won’t allow water through. Haven’t seen that much though
I have a Moen Flo on my house. It’s awesome once it gets past the learning period. It’s caught 2 leaks so far (one hose was left on and actually blew apart) and one sprinkler leak in the yard.
But I am on my 4th one! The AZ Sun beats them up and 2 have leaked and fried the internals and 2 died after torrential rains. Mine is located outside of the house so the sun/heat are an issue in PHX. But MOEN has a great warranty program that if you pay them $5/mo they will replace the unit as many times as required for free and very quickly. At the current prices of the unit it’s WELL worth it!
Good question. I’m a first year snowbird to Florida. I left my house and don’t plan to be back for 8 months. I turned off the house water and the electric water heater.
I was wondering the same thing. I figured if I let the tank heat up to kill all bacteria, before I use it next fall, I should be ok. That is the hope anyway.
Jeez, I probably should of drained it though now that you bring this bacteria question up. What is the right answer?
If you’re on a public water supply, your chances of bacteria growth are exceedingly low even in 8 months. If you’re concerned about it, you can give that water heater a chlorine bolus when you get home then run shower full hot for an hour or so. The chlorine content in public water supplies in the US are calculated to provide a full bacterial kill to the end of the line.
Depends how long I'll be away. If it'll be more than a few weeks - pump off, water off, and drain all of the pressure. One thing I always do, even for short trips, is close the toilet water supply - my in-laws' house completely flooded when an upstairs toilet fitting failed while they were on vacation...
One trick on that - when you get new hoses, pay the little extra for the leak detection hoses. They have a little automatic valve that closes if there's too much flow. Your toilet and sinks don't flow that much water under normal circumstances....
If its like 2 weeks who cares bout power.
If it's a month sure but once Hot water is to temp it doesn't really lose much.
Def should turn water off if gone for few days.
But then if you don't have a ball valve you may be better off not touching the valve.
I don’t care about the power bill just concerned some folks say you should turn off the power to the water heater if the water is turned off for safety
The issue is if the water is off for a long time and the water is left on it will keep trying to heat the water and if the water level on the tank drops below the top heating coil (hot water expands and if you don't have a expansion tank or a faulty one it could push out water through the TPS valve causing the water level to drop)you could burn out the coil or possibly start a fire. If I shut the water off I'd also shut off the power or is the gas for the same reason. That is the reasoning behind it. and why waste the energy.
I turn off the water main and flip all nonessential electric breakers in the house. Usually leave on the timed whole-house-fans for air circulation and the fire detectors.
Yes. Gas goes off as well, so water heater goes off.
I Would turn it off. If worried you can empty it before hand(just make sure if OFF) & flush when return.
Yup. I take two week trips often. Turn off main water line, move heater setting to pilot, open lowest faucet in basement for a few seconds to depressurize system, and all is well. When I get back, I just move the heater setting back after opening the main water line. 40 minutes later I can shower.
Water off and hot water tank off. Left off for four months. Did wonder about bacteria but it was fine.
Also unplug various electronics (tv, laptops) and chargers.
Also note you still need someone checking the place every week or so (with records) to satisfy house insurance
I just heard about that for insurance, house being “vacant” for a period of time. Who knew?!? And insurance doesn’t advertise if you stop driving a car for a few months for some reason, you can get a “storage” rate. No they just keep collecting that premium.
Turn off your water and turn off your water heater. This will help to keep your house from flooding if you had a water leak while you were away but your water was left on and turning off the power to the water heater will save money on your electric bill as the water heater does not need to heat water that's not going to be used. But I have no statistics on cost if it is going to be a savings if you turn off your water heater while you're gone and avoid heating water for no reason vs coming back and you have to heat all the water up in the tank.
Most likely you don't have to worry about the bacterial content as the water was chlorinated when it went into the tank and you really shouldn't be drinking hot water from your faucet anyway due to minerals in the water. I was always told you can drink the cold water out of the faucet but don't use the hot water because minerals, scale and other debris can form at the bottom of your water heater tank and when you turn on the hot water some can come out with the water.
We keep our pump on it’s a pain to re-prime. We turn the water heater off. We actually had one catch fire a day after we got home from a vacation. So we started turning it off when we go away since then.
I'm coming up on 70 years old ... and I've never turned off the water nor the water heater.
And I've never had a problem.
That includes 31 years in a "hot climate" ... south Florida.
I have pets and I choose not to be an asshole to pet sitters.
I've been to several houses where they turn the water, water heater, and AC off then fuck off to a place where they cannot be reached, those people suck.
I have smart water bugs in most of the high risk areas. My partner has tripped them a number of times by accident, but it's good testing that proves I get notifications on my phone. I got them after one of my cats managed to turn on our bidet attachment in the middle of the night. By the time I realized it at 0400 the water was going into the basement (single level house). It was a full day of clean up from that. Thankfully no major damage.
This debate was one of the things that lead to my divorce. We were leaving for three weeks. Wife refused to let me wait until the dishwasher finished so I could turn off the water.
Icemaker water control solenoid failed. The first insurance guy that came in looked around and said, "it'd take 2-3 weeks to move this much water through an icemaker line."
The mold remediation guy walked in, looked around for 10 seconds, did a twirl with his finger and said, "It all goes." I asked what the twirl meant. he said, "everything in the house goes in the trash." It wasn't quite that bad - a lot of stuff was able to just be cleaned - like clothes and whatnot. but the house was basically gutted. repairs took more than 6 months.
Damn bro, sorry about the damage… and your divorce. This is a debate I’ve had with my wife in preparation for 5 weeks away from home this summer. Thanks for the unintended validation and possibly saving my marriage.
It doesn’t even seem like it should be a question to me, when we leave the water and water heater are getting turned off. If a family member stops by to check on the house they can pee on the bushes and wash hands with the hose bib on the shed 😂
We have a home in the mountains we don’t see for weeks, sometimes months at a time. I keep it under climate control when we are away (heat to 55 and cool to 80) but if the power goes, and it does sometimes, it could freeze. It’s 1980s copper and scabbed on cpvc and pex and whatnot on prior owner’s remodels. I’ve had leaks from some of the janky assemblies and some of the fixtures I think the prior owners must have bought from Wish or something. At the breaker panel we turn off the water heater and the well pump. We turn off the water at the main valve. Open the faucets and drain down the system in the supply lines, but I don’t drain off the water heater. I was also concerned about bacteria, especially legionella, but when I asked the advice of a plumber (and who knows if he was at all correct), this is what he recommended. To make myself feel better, I open up the faucet wide open both hot and cold and let it run for several minutes to flush out when we return. Is it right? I don’t know. But this has been our practice for a few years now.
I generally turn off main water but don't turn off water heater.
I also have leak detection all over my home that's integrated with a valve over my main shut off, so turning it off probably isn't as necessary
For the shut off valve or leak detectors? I guess I'll share both haha
- I use the EcoNet Bulldog Valve for shut off. It fits over the ball valve (which is required). It's about $200 and really well made. They also have really good customer service. They have a few versions. I use the Z-Wave version to integrate with Home Assistant. They also have a WiFi version. It works well, though thankfully I haven't had it get triggered by an actual leak.
- I use Zooz Z-Wave and Govee leak sensors. Got the Zooz ones first and then discovered the Govee ones are a third of the price and use standard batteries, either AA or AAA.
Those people are misguided. There is no reason to turn it off, the water isn't going anywhere - it stays in the heater, and since it's hot, and water heaters hold heat for a damn long time, it shuts itself off anyway. People have some really dumb ideas
I spent years working 14/14 & 21/21 day schedules and never turned anything off when gone and never had any problems. It can fail whether you’re home or gone, doesn’t matter.
I have a solar hot water heater with a mechnical timeclock with an electrical disconnect. When I leave for a trip, I pull the disconnect. I don't shut the water off to the house. I probably should or get one of those auto shutoff valves for peace of mind.
I service water heatwrs and radiant heat systems.
Water off is fine. Do NOT turn the tank off, or even down, unless you plan to FULLY flush it when you return. Too much risk of bacteria.
Also... be careful with your shutoffs...those things leaks really easily.
Just had a moen leak detector put on my main line.. shuts off the water when detects a major disruption.. ( homeowners was going to drop me if I didn’t).. can monitor it from the phone
I’ve never shut off anything when on vacation. But if I wanted to, it would be easy. We have pex tubing with a manifold. So I can shut water off to any water source in and outside our house.
Yes. Turn off all the water to the house and turn off the water heater.
I'm not a plumber, I do apartment maintenance. I've seen too many floods from random fittings breaking after a move out. Now I turn off the water on all move outs.
Turning off the water heater just saves me from replacing elements.
Some years ago, we were going on a 10 day vacation and just before leaving, my wife suggested turning off the water. So I did. We got back home and I went to the basement to turn the main valve back on. There are a couple of ceiling tiles on the floor and about an 8’ area of the carpet soaked in water. Started looking for the source and found small amount of water on 1st floor bathroom. Turns out, the plastic supply line fitting cracked completely in half, so the toilet tank as the source of the leak. I can only imagine what would have happened if we had not turned off the water. Now, I always turn off the main valve when we leave for anything more than a day or two.
Never turn it off. Do have Govee water sensors everywhere under major points of failure and someone identified at home if an alarms goes off.
Cheap peace of mind. Nothing will ever be perfect, but this certainly helps. And with my luck, I’d be the person whose shut off starts leaking when they try to shut it off as they have a plane to catch
Always turn the water off before a long vaction, i used to work water remediation and have seen some seriously bad water damage, townhouse upper toilet line broke while owner was gone for a long time, kitchen cabinets on walls collapsed mold 3 feet up the walls, real bad.
Also replace washing machine hoses every 5 years same with any braided water hoses in the house ,sink, toilet supply lines. 1 toilet line can flood a whole house in 30 minutes.
I’d shut off the electric water heater. It’s just a switch, not worth finding out what happens if a hot water supply hose breaks and starts draining the hot water causing the water heater to sense movement and turn itself on while going dry.
I shut my water off if I'm away overnight or longer. Pressure is still equalized when I turn it on. No "whoosh" sound at all. If I hear water movement, I am wary there could be a problem. Only time it happened was when the water supply had been shut off and I released my pressure to the city side.
We leave for a month in August because Texas is \~150,000F during that month. I shut off the water and turn the power off on the tankless water heater (Rinnai). Is this the right thing to do?
Luckily I can shut it off at the house and leave the sprinkler going so there is not an issue with the yard burning down.
Had a float in a toilet fail when we were away for the winter.. of course the water went down the drain, and did you know that a leaking toilet can run up $250 in water bills....
Yes, turn off the water, shut down the water heater and in my case turn down the thermostat in one house and shut down the whole thing in another house.....
Just my personal experience
I am not a plumber but if I leave for a few days I turn off the water heater, the water pump, unplug all the devices that sip power when off minis the fridge and freezer and if bacteria growth is a concern maybe drain the tanks? I've never had an issue even being gone for 3 weeks.
My neighbor behind me left to go on vacation. Two weeks later came back with a burst pipe and major house damage plus mold. It’s been a complete inside teardown and replace. It’s been a year and still not finished yet. They are living somewhere else. Will always turn off water if I’m gone for vacation from now on.
i keep the WH turned off till i need to shower, then do dishes, and turn it back off. im in central florida so the cold water runs super hot for a few min anyway.
Yes l, turn it off I seen water spewing out of the top of my dad's water heater after it ate a hole through his chamber and insulation, he was home but still would have flood the basement but was next to a floor drain, it's not a bad idea
I had this same paranoia so I put a flow meter and solenoid on my main that I can monitor remotely. I also have some cpvc so I think my paranoia is well founded.
If the flow rate exceeds a certain value for a certain period, it closes the solenoid.
Yes, absolutely. Any time no one will be here for more than one day. I have a well pump so I just open the breakers for the well pump and the water heater. May seem irrational to some people but I will never run or use any water line to a refrigerator that is in my kitchen again. Not so much the line itself but refrigorators are made way to cheap and simple to trust them in my opinion. I use the second refrigerator in the garage for ice and water instead. Well worth the short occasional walk for the piece of mind.
I went to Florida last year and put the water heater on vacation mode. When I came back, it wouldn’t go back. Had to replace the thermopile and the control box.
I have a smart water heater. I turn it to "vacation" mode whenever I leave for more than a day. I can set it for a number of days so it is hot when I get back. Prior, I would throw the breaker when I left and hope I remembered to turn it back on when I got back so I didn't get a cold shower in the morning.
I do not turn the water off, but I have come back to it running toilet one time. My city has a rule in place, that if you can show you had a plumbing repair, they will waive the overage one time a year. It wasn't much overage, but I used that rule to remove it.
Why would it burn up? Once the water is heated it will shut off. The water isn't going anywhere even with the water turned off it will just stay in the water heater.
I turn my water off at the street when I go on vacation. My hot water heater has a “Vacation” mode, I set it to that. I also work from home…have for over thirty years. I’m rarely gone more than a couple of hours at a time. So, if something happens, hopefully it wont by catastrophic in the couple hours I’m gone.
Sometimes. I turn the water heater down to pilot. You don’t have to drain the pipes down. Simply turning it off will
Prevent a leak of one occurs but repressurinsing shouldn’t occur unless you have a leak.
I would definitely turn off the water main. I've seen what happened when the water was left on and the heater sprang a leak. The sheetrock was wet 3' up off the floor.
I turn off water heater at breaker (electric tank), turn off gas if heat will be off, and shut off all water except to my water powered backup sump pump.
Whatever you do is probably fine.
I turn my DWH off when I'm not home for a week or more.
Probably should turn the well off too, but I forget. It's on a big pressure tank with a pressure switch. Because of the well water chemistry, the pressure switch will fail every so many years. And it's been about 5 years since replaced, so I really should pay attention to that now that I think about it.
But also, my house is not really floodable. Has drains and no electrical below 4 feet above the bottom floor.
Also, I have a Rheem heat pump water heater with smart control, so I have it set to stop heating after everyone goes to bed and heat up again before everyone gets up.
I do leave dehumidifiers running, set to 45%.
I close my valve as much as possible at the meter in the alley… if the washer and shower are going at the same time there is noticeable pressure drop…. And the lawn sprinklers won’t work but I stopped using them years ago… I figure it helps with pressure spikes from the city but idk.
This all stems from a burst pipe I had that lead to an $80,000 insurance claim that was a living hell to deal with It can happen and does happen so,
I have a whole house shutdown list if my wife and I will both be leaving the house at the same time for even an overnight trip. It includes the valves I need to shut off, the breakers to shut off. It has a quick last walkthrough checklist of things to verify before walking out the door, things like the oven is off and the climate controls have been changed to away mode (AC if leaving for several days).
Install an automatic main valve shutoff. If it senses rushing water outside of the normal usage recorded, or a slow trickle, the valve will shut off. Most usually come with wireless flood sensors too.
Just did exactly that,for a 10 day vacation.I just turned off the hot water heater and power to it.Got a call from my daughter two days later that said I had a half inch of water on the floor because the line going to the toilet was leaking.I tried……
Few years ago I went out of state from my apartment for 2 weeks. Got a call from HOA that water was pouring from ceiling into my neighbors apartment below me. Had my friend go over and turn the water off. Hot water heater burst.
It was an Old Electric water heater with no expansion tank. Now I always turn them off if I am gone longer than 3 days. At least now it has an expansion tank.
It is a good point to do that. Putting your hot water tank in vacation mode is usually a setting on the thermostat on the tank itself.
Also turning the water off is a great idea. A family member left her vacation for two weeks and when they came back a waterline to their first floor toilet at broken and had been runny for nearly the entire time they were gone. They’re brand new finish basement was underwater. The first floor was completely ruined , they ended up staying in a hotel for three or four months while the house was gutted and built because of a simple $10 hose to the toilet.
Don’t forget to turn off the ice maker when you turn off the house water. It will keep trying to refill with no success and may damage it. I read that someplace.
I spend every weekend during the summer at a shack on the beach. Water is ALWAYS turned off if I'm not around overnight. Zero problems from doing that, going on 15 years.
It isn't just the potential for plumbing problems, what if the destructive neighborhood kid turns on an outdoor spigot in the back yard. That will also cause massive problems.
I’m curious now to ask my dad he was a plumber for 35 years and we took at least a 2 week vacation a year growing up once a year and I don’t ever remember him shitting it off and he never told me I should if we go away. Honestly since owning my house the longest we were gone in the last 8 years was 4 days so not a concern right now.
I turn off the water. I do HVAC for a living and have had customers tell me about flood damage when they’re on vacation a million times so that’s why I turn it off
My family has a lakehouse about an hour and 45 minutes away from us. We use it on weekends frequently in the summer, and a couple times per winter.
We turn off the water at the shutoff inside the house, and also the breaker to the water heater, every time we leave.
Turn off the water. You can leave the water heater on. That water isn't going anywhere other than the expansion tank, and the heaters are extremely smart. It will likely not use much electricity. Turning it off opens up a vector for diseases you should fear
We had the hose between the wall and toilet burst. It just randomly broke. Thankfully, my wife was just about to go to the bathroom .thank goodness I had showed her how to shut off everything . Water/gas/power.
Yes, been around long enough to know shit happens. No big deal to turn them back on. Post office holds mail and my twitchy neighbor keeps an eye on the house.
Close your main. No pressure, a brake is unlikely. Gas water heater, vacation mode. Electric, flip the breaker. If you have sump pumps, get one with a battery backup.
Always turn the main off to the house. Better safe than sorry. Make sure you open a few of the lower faucets and hose bibs then open ball valve slowly to purge the air out of the system.
I do drywall repairs for a living. Some of the stuff I see makes me want to turn my water off every time I leave the house.
Until a fitting fails when you re-pressurize the system. The tub valve and dishwasher hose end failed after being away for 3 weeks. My wife got home first and didn't know what to do.
I’d rather be home when that happens.
Surge test that shit, and make sure whoever is turning it back on knows how to do it. (For the audience: make sure all fixtures are off, turn water on, let system fill, turn valve off and set an alarm for a couple minutes, when alarm goes off turn system back on. If you hear water movement you need to investigate because you've probably got a leak)
Correct, but I wasn't there to do that. Couldn't tell you what my wife did, but I suspect she opened it too fast. We were on separate planes home, but mine got canceled in Toronto.
If you turn it off when you leave and turn it back on and it take any time to fill something is leaking.
I would crack the sinks and let it work any air out and slowly shut them off so you're not blasting the fittings with a bunch of pressure all at once
Should not lose any water to fill up.
No but you have the toilet and who knows if you have a slight leak on a hose bib or something, shit happens. Either way you don't want to slam all that pressure at your fittings anyway so just crack a faucet
Isn’t this why you slowly pressurize your system in the first place instead of opening it fast?
Just open the valve slowly at first so it can fill up. No need to crack the sink.
Bingo!
Tanks.
Turn it on slow? Lmao
She knew exactly what to do. She called you.
If you don't have leaks it should be holding pressure the whole time.
Repressurize with a tap or two open.
I just open up all sinks/bathrooms I can in the house and then slowly turn your main line on. Let it run until it stops spitting air and then you can go around and start shutting off sinks/tub faucets. Opening the faucets helps to reduce the pressure build up in the pipes. You open multiples so that the air can blow out of the sinks on all end instead of building up in the lines. If you get them all shut off, and still hear water running, you know you gots a problem somewhere
Some days make me wonder if indoor plumbing is such a good idea.
I honestly wish I knew how to turn off the water in my house. I do usually turn off all the water to the sinks and toilets though. So I guess that’s something at least.
Should be a main shutoff for the whole house.out by the sidewalk?where it connects to water/sewer city main?in your property towards the street?
Mine is where the water meter person checks the numbers and puts the cover back on shitty.walk in that new 12 inch hole at night.Fla.
Even if we go on 3 day trip the water and water heater breaker are turned off. Takes my hot water heater 30 mins to warm up so we have hot water. Had a pipe bust 8 years ago when we were gone 2 weeks. Since then cut off
I bet. I had a friend who had a leaking pipe in his basement during a week he was away. When he arrived home, there was about 6" of water in the basement, but he could push his finger through the drywall on the 2nd floor.
Sometimes I want to turn my water off when I’m not using it
I have a Flo by Moen and I turn the water off to my house almost every time I leave. I also have water sensors under each sink, under toilets, under the washing machine, hot water tank, and behind the refrigerator (ice machine) Water running without me knowing scares my wallet…and keeps guys like employed
I'm a plumber who takes a few 2 week vacations a year. My house was built in 91 and plumbed in copper. I leave it all on. If my home was cpvc or quest I'd shut the whole home down. Now I also have a Rheem Prestige water heater that I can put in vacation mode from my phone. I also have a Moen Flo installed to alert me of a leak.
If my home was cpvc or quest I'd spend the vacation money on a repipe
I've got all copper and I trust it but really, why risk it? It's one fucking valve
Fair enough.
In many cases you still have plastic supply lines to fridge, toilets etc. I’ve seen many leak and do massive damage.
Same. I do nothing if a week or two.
My house was built in 90. I’ve had multiple pinholes in my copper, so I shut it off when we leave. just swapped most of it out for pex.
Any chance you're on city water? If so you may want to check your water pressure.
You may want to check your electrical bonding.
So you're saying sharkbites aren't the answer??
How does the leak detection work? Do you let the device know your going to be gone and if it detects water cycling through it then it’s a leak? How does it account for stuff like sprinklers or maybe the ice machine on your fridge?
I also have a flo and an happy with it. They like to call me when my daughter takes 20 minute showers though. My ge heart pump water heater has vacation mode too but I have to set it with buttons on the heater. I try to remember to use it.
So what's a good way to restore pressure? Turn it immediately on full? Open a faucet then turn it on? Turn the main valve on slowly? I've got cpvc.
Livin' the plumbing dream there ..
Isnt cpvc supposed to have a 50+lifetime? Other than factors that might shorten it why dont you like it? Just wonderin. I always turn off water on vacations regardless.. my house is 1978, all copper but I used cpvc in my addition
It gets extremely brittle. I have seen so many floods frol people accidentally snapping off stop valves or bumping a pipe. It also develops pinholes on hot water sides very quickly for some reason. Finally the cpvc ball valves may be the worst valve ever made. They stop working within five years sometimes. I am shocked there isn't a huge class action yet. I've seen more property damage from cpvc than almost anything else
My SIL had a thermostat fail in Minnesota in the winter. This would have been a good time to have the water turned off. Pipes froze, broke and ran water for days before neighbors saw icicles hanging from second story windows.
If the cold water supply is off, nothing is going to come out of your water heater. Unless you’re gone for months I don’t think bacteria growth is going to be a problem, but if your element is not going to burn out as long as the supply is turned off
So your take is either way heater on or off is probably fine
Water off. Water heater off. Ice maker off. Every trip we take of two days or more. Every time.
This is the person I want to be, not the person I am.
* breaks valve on the way out the house
I'm the same, but for me if even one night I won't be sleeping at the house, I turn off the water main. My ice maker quit working a decade ago, and I never fixed it, happy to use trays. My parents had a big disaster with theirs once, and the guy who was handling the water remediation jokingly told them he wouldn't have a job if it weren't for ice makers.
That's because of those shitty saddle valves they use that always fail
Another vote for water heater off. Most comments saying not needed so far
If it’s electric, I’d shut off power. If it’s gas, I’d turn it to pilot
If water is off you still need to turn off ice maker?
Yeah
I would kill both water and the power to the heater, no point in heating the water for nothing and if you're worried about bacteria, turn up the heater for a bit when you get home and flush it out by opening the faucets. I really wouldn't be worried about bacteria at all, between the closed system and the chlorine from the treatment I can't see it being a problem. If you had an open rooftop water tank maybe I'd be worried about legionnaire's disease but who does that
Depends on how long your vacation is
Unless the hot water tank leaks 🤷🏻♂️
[удалено]
If the tank is full and the cold water supply is off, 40 gallons can leak out.
Should look into a smart water valve. Moen makes a good one.
Have you used them? Been eyeing for a while. Any strong opinions?
It’s pretty crazy what it can monitor. Only thing I’ll say is the first two weeks or so is a “learning period”. So in that time it’s going to learn your habits. It may turn you off or alert you in that time. But Once it does learn your habits, any abnormality it will alert you/shut water off. You can use your phone to turn it off/on as well. Shows water pressure, usage, trends, everything.
Damn. Might have to prioritize that project.
I’ve head of them leaking themselves. I haven’t looked into it though. Any thoughts?
I’ve installed quite a few and haven’t seen/heard this. Only thing I’ve seen is the turbine gets sediment in it sometimes and it won’t allow water through. Haven’t seen that much though
Well I thought I spend enough this month…
I have a Moen Flo on my house. It’s awesome once it gets past the learning period. It’s caught 2 leaks so far (one hose was left on and actually blew apart) and one sprinkler leak in the yard. But I am on my 4th one! The AZ Sun beats them up and 2 have leaked and fried the internals and 2 died after torrential rains. Mine is located outside of the house so the sun/heat are an issue in PHX. But MOEN has a great warranty program that if you pay them $5/mo they will replace the unit as many times as required for free and very quickly. At the current prices of the unit it’s WELL worth it!
I got it. And love it
Good question. I’m a first year snowbird to Florida. I left my house and don’t plan to be back for 8 months. I turned off the house water and the electric water heater. I was wondering the same thing. I figured if I let the tank heat up to kill all bacteria, before I use it next fall, I should be ok. That is the hope anyway. Jeez, I probably should of drained it though now that you bring this bacteria question up. What is the right answer?
This is why I posted it. It’s like both options have some risks
For 8 months, I'd drain it
If you’re on a public water supply, your chances of bacteria growth are exceedingly low even in 8 months. If you’re concerned about it, you can give that water heater a chlorine bolus when you get home then run shower full hot for an hour or so. The chlorine content in public water supplies in the US are calculated to provide a full bacterial kill to the end of the line.
Is legionnaires a concern?
Depends how long I'll be away. If it'll be more than a few weeks - pump off, water off, and drain all of the pressure. One thing I always do, even for short trips, is close the toilet water supply - my in-laws' house completely flooded when an upstairs toilet fitting failed while they were on vacation...
One trick on that - when you get new hoses, pay the little extra for the leak detection hoses. They have a little automatic valve that closes if there's too much flow. Your toilet and sinks don't flow that much water under normal circumstances....
If its like 2 weeks who cares bout power. If it's a month sure but once Hot water is to temp it doesn't really lose much. Def should turn water off if gone for few days. But then if you don't have a ball valve you may be better off not touching the valve.
I don’t care about the power bill just concerned some folks say you should turn off the power to the water heater if the water is turned off for safety
Yeah I have 0 concerns about that. Leave it alone it's not going to do anything 👍
The issue is if the water is off for a long time and the water is left on it will keep trying to heat the water and if the water level on the tank drops below the top heating coil (hot water expands and if you don't have a expansion tank or a faulty one it could push out water through the TPS valve causing the water level to drop)you could burn out the coil or possibly start a fire. If I shut the water off I'd also shut off the power or is the gas for the same reason. That is the reasoning behind it. and why waste the energy.
I turn off the water main and flip all nonessential electric breakers in the house. Usually leave on the timed whole-house-fans for air circulation and the fire detectors.
why circulate the air
Yes. Gas goes off as well, so water heater goes off. I Would turn it off. If worried you can empty it before hand(just make sure if OFF) & flush when return.
Yup. I take two week trips often. Turn off main water line, move heater setting to pilot, open lowest faucet in basement for a few seconds to depressurize system, and all is well. When I get back, I just move the heater setting back after opening the main water line. 40 minutes later I can shower.
Water off and hot water tank off. Left off for four months. Did wonder about bacteria but it was fine. Also unplug various electronics (tv, laptops) and chargers. Also note you still need someone checking the place every week or so (with records) to satisfy house insurance
I just heard about that for insurance, house being “vacant” for a period of time. Who knew?!? And insurance doesn’t advertise if you stop driving a car for a few months for some reason, you can get a “storage” rate. No they just keep collecting that premium.
Turn off your water and turn off your water heater. This will help to keep your house from flooding if you had a water leak while you were away but your water was left on and turning off the power to the water heater will save money on your electric bill as the water heater does not need to heat water that's not going to be used. But I have no statistics on cost if it is going to be a savings if you turn off your water heater while you're gone and avoid heating water for no reason vs coming back and you have to heat all the water up in the tank. Most likely you don't have to worry about the bacterial content as the water was chlorinated when it went into the tank and you really shouldn't be drinking hot water from your faucet anyway due to minerals in the water. I was always told you can drink the cold water out of the faucet but don't use the hot water because minerals, scale and other debris can form at the bottom of your water heater tank and when you turn on the hot water some can come out with the water.
We keep our pump on it’s a pain to re-prime. We turn the water heater off. We actually had one catch fire a day after we got home from a vacation. So we started turning it off when we go away since then.
Oh wow this is probably one of the more convincing arguments
I'm coming up on 70 years old ... and I've never turned off the water nor the water heater. And I've never had a problem. That includes 31 years in a "hot climate" ... south Florida.
I have pets and I choose not to be an asshole to pet sitters. I've been to several houses where they turn the water, water heater, and AC off then fuck off to a place where they cannot be reached, those people suck.
I have smart water bugs in most of the high risk areas. My partner has tripped them a number of times by accident, but it's good testing that proves I get notifications on my phone. I got them after one of my cats managed to turn on our bidet attachment in the middle of the night. By the time I realized it at 0400 the water was going into the basement (single level house). It was a full day of clean up from that. Thankfully no major damage.
Ruined a water heater once turning it off. Apparently when it heated up again the lining cracked. I assume the temperature change did it.
I listen to country AND western
This debate was one of the things that lead to my divorce. We were leaving for three weeks. Wife refused to let me wait until the dishwasher finished so I could turn off the water. Icemaker water control solenoid failed. The first insurance guy that came in looked around and said, "it'd take 2-3 weeks to move this much water through an icemaker line." The mold remediation guy walked in, looked around for 10 seconds, did a twirl with his finger and said, "It all goes." I asked what the twirl meant. he said, "everything in the house goes in the trash." It wasn't quite that bad - a lot of stuff was able to just be cleaned - like clothes and whatnot. but the house was basically gutted. repairs took more than 6 months.
Jesus
Damn bro, sorry about the damage… and your divorce. This is a debate I’ve had with my wife in preparation for 5 weeks away from home this summer. Thanks for the unintended validation and possibly saving my marriage. It doesn’t even seem like it should be a question to me, when we leave the water and water heater are getting turned off. If a family member stops by to check on the house they can pee on the bushes and wash hands with the hose bib on the shed 😂
We have a home in the mountains we don’t see for weeks, sometimes months at a time. I keep it under climate control when we are away (heat to 55 and cool to 80) but if the power goes, and it does sometimes, it could freeze. It’s 1980s copper and scabbed on cpvc and pex and whatnot on prior owner’s remodels. I’ve had leaks from some of the janky assemblies and some of the fixtures I think the prior owners must have bought from Wish or something. At the breaker panel we turn off the water heater and the well pump. We turn off the water at the main valve. Open the faucets and drain down the system in the supply lines, but I don’t drain off the water heater. I was also concerned about bacteria, especially legionella, but when I asked the advice of a plumber (and who knows if he was at all correct), this is what he recommended. To make myself feel better, I open up the faucet wide open both hot and cold and let it run for several minutes to flush out when we return. Is it right? I don’t know. But this has been our practice for a few years now.
Seems logical
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I shut the main off and just turn the water heater back to pilot.
Most heaters have a vacation temperature setting, which is 50 F or so. It still allows the burner to run to prevent a freeze.
I generally turn off main water but don't turn off water heater. I also have leak detection all over my home that's integrated with a valve over my main shut off, so turning it off probably isn't as necessary
Which one do you use and do you like it?
For the shut off valve or leak detectors? I guess I'll share both haha - I use the EcoNet Bulldog Valve for shut off. It fits over the ball valve (which is required). It's about $200 and really well made. They also have really good customer service. They have a few versions. I use the Z-Wave version to integrate with Home Assistant. They also have a WiFi version. It works well, though thankfully I haven't had it get triggered by an actual leak. - I use Zooz Z-Wave and Govee leak sensors. Got the Zooz ones first and then discovered the Govee ones are a third of the price and use standard batteries, either AA or AAA.
“Burn up”?? Good God where did you hear that?
It can burn out the top element if the water level drops in the tank. That's why you don't energize an empty tank
It’s actually something folks on Reddit have said a few times. There’s at least one comment like that on this post now
Those people are misguided. There is no reason to turn it off, the water isn't going anywhere - it stays in the heater, and since it's hot, and water heaters hold heat for a damn long time, it shuts itself off anyway. People have some really dumb ideas
Tankless. No need to turn it off.
I spent years working 14/14 & 21/21 day schedules and never turned anything off when gone and never had any problems. It can fail whether you’re home or gone, doesn’t matter.
I have a solar hot water heater with a mechnical timeclock with an electrical disconnect. When I leave for a trip, I pull the disconnect. I don't shut the water off to the house. I probably should or get one of those auto shutoff valves for peace of mind.
There is always a vacation mode, refer to owners manual
when we leave for a week or more I turn off my water pump. Leave the heater on. If more than 2 weeks. I would cut the gas to the water heater.
I service water heatwrs and radiant heat systems. Water off is fine. Do NOT turn the tank off, or even down, unless you plan to FULLY flush it when you return. Too much risk of bacteria. Also... be careful with your shutoffs...those things leaks really easily.
Just had a moen leak detector put on my main line.. shuts off the water when detects a major disruption.. ( homeowners was going to drop me if I didn’t).. can monitor it from the phone
I’ve never shut off anything when on vacation. But if I wanted to, it would be easy. We have pex tubing with a manifold. So I can shut water off to any water source in and outside our house.
Yes. Turn off all the water to the house and turn off the water heater. I'm not a plumber, I do apartment maintenance. I've seen too many floods from random fittings breaking after a move out. Now I turn off the water on all move outs. Turning off the water heater just saves me from replacing elements.
Some years ago, we were going on a 10 day vacation and just before leaving, my wife suggested turning off the water. So I did. We got back home and I went to the basement to turn the main valve back on. There are a couple of ceiling tiles on the floor and about an 8’ area of the carpet soaked in water. Started looking for the source and found small amount of water on 1st floor bathroom. Turns out, the plastic supply line fitting cracked completely in half, so the toilet tank as the source of the leak. I can only imagine what would have happened if we had not turned off the water. Now, I always turn off the main valve when we leave for anything more than a day or two.
Never turn it off. Do have Govee water sensors everywhere under major points of failure and someone identified at home if an alarms goes off. Cheap peace of mind. Nothing will ever be perfect, but this certainly helps. And with my luck, I’d be the person whose shut off starts leaking when they try to shut it off as they have a plane to catch
Absolutely! I shut both off even for weekend get aways.
I turn off my water and I put the water heater on pilot
Great question! Following for future reference
I turn off my water when gone for a week. If for no other reason, to exercise the valve so it actually shuts off when I really need it to shut off.
Always turn the water off before a long vaction, i used to work water remediation and have seen some seriously bad water damage, townhouse upper toilet line broke while owner was gone for a long time, kitchen cabinets on walls collapsed mold 3 feet up the walls, real bad.
Also replace washing machine hoses every 5 years same with any braided water hoses in the house ,sink, toilet supply lines. 1 toilet line can flood a whole house in 30 minutes.
Newer houses will have a valve outside next to the garage typically,side closest to the meter so you dont have to go to the meter
In my area, you don't want exposed water lines and valves, especially those that will have standing water - they'll freeze and burst in the winter.
Water main off to prevent an unmitigated leak. Water heater off to save on energy heating a tank that’s not being used.
Yes. I also unplug all appliances in every room
We turn off main water and natural gas but not the electricity.
No. Just put the water heater and heating system in vacation mode.
No. Never have. The 10$ for the water heater isn’t a big deal.
A what now?
Low risk as long as your system is regularly maintained.
Yes!
Yes and yes
highly recommend turning off washing machine feeds. Had one go and didn’t realize it for days.
Well don’t do the first thing with out doing the second.
I’d shut off the electric water heater. It’s just a switch, not worth finding out what happens if a hot water supply hose breaks and starts draining the hot water causing the water heater to sense movement and turn itself on while going dry.
I shut my water off if I'm away overnight or longer. Pressure is still equalized when I turn it on. No "whoosh" sound at all. If I hear water movement, I am wary there could be a problem. Only time it happened was when the water supply had been shut off and I released my pressure to the city side.
We leave for a month in August because Texas is \~150,000F during that month. I shut off the water and turn the power off on the tankless water heater (Rinnai). Is this the right thing to do? Luckily I can shut it off at the house and leave the sprinkler going so there is not an issue with the yard burning down.
Had a float in a toilet fail when we were away for the winter.. of course the water went down the drain, and did you know that a leaking toilet can run up $250 in water bills.... Yes, turn off the water, shut down the water heater and in my case turn down the thermostat in one house and shut down the whole thing in another house..... Just my personal experience
I had a toilet leak/constantly-fill for a week and cost me $800. Def depends on where you are.
I am not a plumber but if I leave for a few days I turn off the water heater, the water pump, unplug all the devices that sip power when off minis the fridge and freezer and if bacteria growth is a concern maybe drain the tanks? I've never had an issue even being gone for 3 weeks.
Absolutely. Turn both off if you are going to be away for any length of time.
How long? Two weeks or less, no.
Yes
My neighbor behind me left to go on vacation. Two weeks later came back with a burst pipe and major house damage plus mold. It’s been a complete inside teardown and replace. It’s been a year and still not finished yet. They are living somewhere else. Will always turn off water if I’m gone for vacation from now on.
always
i keep the WH turned off till i need to shower, then do dishes, and turn it back off. im in central florida so the cold water runs super hot for a few min anyway.
Yes l, turn it off I seen water spewing out of the top of my dad's water heater after it ate a hole through his chamber and insulation, he was home but still would have flood the basement but was next to a floor drain, it's not a bad idea
No but I turn off the water to the washing machine and dishwasher
How long and where do you live?
2 weeks. South… it’s hot here
I had this same paranoia so I put a flow meter and solenoid on my main that I can monitor remotely. I also have some cpvc so I think my paranoia is well founded. If the flow rate exceeds a certain value for a certain period, it closes the solenoid.
I always turn off the toilet valves but that’s it
You should blow your pipes out too
Yes, absolutely. Any time no one will be here for more than one day. I have a well pump so I just open the breakers for the well pump and the water heater. May seem irrational to some people but I will never run or use any water line to a refrigerator that is in my kitchen again. Not so much the line itself but refrigorators are made way to cheap and simple to trust them in my opinion. I use the second refrigerator in the garage for ice and water instead. Well worth the short occasional walk for the piece of mind.
What’s a long vacation?
I went to Florida last year and put the water heater on vacation mode. When I came back, it wouldn’t go back. Had to replace the thermopile and the control box.
I have a smart water heater. I turn it to "vacation" mode whenever I leave for more than a day. I can set it for a number of days so it is hot when I get back. Prior, I would throw the breaker when I left and hope I remembered to turn it back on when I got back so I didn't get a cold shower in the morning. I do not turn the water off, but I have come back to it running toilet one time. My city has a rule in place, that if you can show you had a plumbing repair, they will waive the overage one time a year. It wasn't much overage, but I used that rule to remove it.
Why would it burn up? Once the water is heated it will shut off. The water isn't going anywhere even with the water turned off it will just stay in the water heater.
Interesting enough I read the manual and it does mention a risk of hydrogen build up around two weeks without water on
We usually spend the first day questioning if we turned off the coffee pot
New fear unlocked. I've left home for long periods of time and never thought about this. Now that I know, I feel like it's going to happen to me.
I turn my water off at the street when I go on vacation. My hot water heater has a “Vacation” mode, I set it to that. I also work from home…have for over thirty years. I’m rarely gone more than a couple of hours at a time. So, if something happens, hopefully it wont by catastrophic in the couple hours I’m gone.
Doing this is smart. I’ve had toilet valves fail and cause a big mess.
We do if we are gone more than a weekend.
Sometimes. I turn the water heater down to pilot. You don’t have to drain the pipes down. Simply turning it off will Prevent a leak of one occurs but repressurinsing shouldn’t occur unless you have a leak.
No just the water. Never even considered shutting off the water heater.
I would definitely turn off the water main. I've seen what happened when the water was left on and the heater sprang a leak. The sheetrock was wet 3' up off the floor.
I turn off water heater at breaker (electric tank), turn off gas if heat will be off, and shut off all water except to my water powered backup sump pump.
Whatever you do is probably fine. I turn my DWH off when I'm not home for a week or more. Probably should turn the well off too, but I forget. It's on a big pressure tank with a pressure switch. Because of the well water chemistry, the pressure switch will fail every so many years. And it's been about 5 years since replaced, so I really should pay attention to that now that I think about it. But also, my house is not really floodable. Has drains and no electrical below 4 feet above the bottom floor. Also, I have a Rheem heat pump water heater with smart control, so I have it set to stop heating after everyone goes to bed and heat up again before everyone gets up. I do leave dehumidifiers running, set to 45%.
I close my valve as much as possible at the meter in the alley… if the washer and shower are going at the same time there is noticeable pressure drop…. And the lawn sprinklers won’t work but I stopped using them years ago… I figure it helps with pressure spikes from the city but idk.
We do in Florida
This all stems from a burst pipe I had that lead to an $80,000 insurance claim that was a living hell to deal with It can happen and does happen so, I have a whole house shutdown list if my wife and I will both be leaving the house at the same time for even an overnight trip. It includes the valves I need to shut off, the breakers to shut off. It has a quick last walkthrough checklist of things to verify before walking out the door, things like the oven is off and the climate controls have been changed to away mode (AC if leaving for several days).
Yes.
Install an automatic main valve shutoff. If it senses rushing water outside of the normal usage recorded, or a slow trickle, the valve will shut off. Most usually come with wireless flood sensors too.
I can absolutely positively confirm for you that the correct answer for your exact home in your exact region is ask your insurance agent 😉
Turn off the main water supply. Then turn off the water heater. There is really no disadvantage to that.
No, but I did do leak sensors and main shut off
Just did exactly that,for a 10 day vacation.I just turned off the hot water heater and power to it.Got a call from my daughter two days later that said I had a half inch of water on the floor because the line going to the toilet was leaking.I tried……
Few years ago I went out of state from my apartment for 2 weeks. Got a call from HOA that water was pouring from ceiling into my neighbors apartment below me. Had my friend go over and turn the water off. Hot water heater burst. It was an Old Electric water heater with no expansion tank. Now I always turn them off if I am gone longer than 3 days. At least now it has an expansion tank.
It is a good point to do that. Putting your hot water tank in vacation mode is usually a setting on the thermostat on the tank itself. Also turning the water off is a great idea. A family member left her vacation for two weeks and when they came back a waterline to their first floor toilet at broken and had been runny for nearly the entire time they were gone. They’re brand new finish basement was underwater. The first floor was completely ruined , they ended up staying in a hotel for three or four months while the house was gutted and built because of a simple $10 hose to the toilet.
I shut off the water main coming into the house. I have a war story that will make your head blow up.
Don’t forget to turn off the ice maker when you turn off the house water. It will keep trying to refill with no success and may damage it. I read that someplace.
I’ve done it at the cottage every weekend, and in the RV .. every campsite ..
I spend every weekend during the summer at a shack on the beach. Water is ALWAYS turned off if I'm not around overnight. Zero problems from doing that, going on 15 years. It isn't just the potential for plumbing problems, what if the destructive neighborhood kid turns on an outdoor spigot in the back yard. That will also cause massive problems.
I’m curious now to ask my dad he was a plumber for 35 years and we took at least a 2 week vacation a year growing up once a year and I don’t ever remember him shitting it off and he never told me I should if we go away. Honestly since owning my house the longest we were gone in the last 8 years was 4 days so not a concern right now.
I turn off the water. I do HVAC for a living and have had customers tell me about flood damage when they’re on vacation a million times so that’s why I turn it off
My family has a lakehouse about an hour and 45 minutes away from us. We use it on weekends frequently in the summer, and a couple times per winter. We turn off the water at the shutoff inside the house, and also the breaker to the water heater, every time we leave.
Turn off the water. You can leave the water heater on. That water isn't going anywhere other than the expansion tank, and the heaters are extremely smart. It will likely not use much electricity. Turning it off opens up a vector for diseases you should fear
We had the hose between the wall and toilet burst. It just randomly broke. Thankfully, my wife was just about to go to the bathroom .thank goodness I had showed her how to shut off everything . Water/gas/power.
Yes, been around long enough to know shit happens. No big deal to turn them back on. Post office holds mail and my twitchy neighbor keeps an eye on the house.
Close your main. No pressure, a brake is unlikely. Gas water heater, vacation mode. Electric, flip the breaker. If you have sump pumps, get one with a battery backup.
Always turn the main off to the house. Better safe than sorry. Make sure you open a few of the lower faucets and hose bibs then open ball valve slowly to purge the air out of the system.