Vacation Prep...Do I turn the water off?

This may come a little late in the vacation season but well worth discussing anytime of the year. The question was asked, the other day, on one of the threads I watch, “should I shut my water off in the house when on vacation?” The answer is positively yes. You never know what can happen when you're away and how much damage can be done by out of control water in your home. I call to mind friends who, several years ago, left their home for an extended vacation and while gone a shut off valve on one of their plumbing fixtures failed and started water flowing all over their single story ranch home (a very expensive home by the way). I do not remember how many thousands of gallons they were billed for but the damage was incredible. Not only was their carpeting soaked but the hardwood floors buckled and popped off the floor, kitchen cabinets were ruined, the sheet rock soaked water half way up all of the walls, clothes wicked water up into the closets, the appliances were ruined, all of the electrical outlets had to be replaced, much of their beautiful wooded furniture was ruined and any upholstered furniture that was in contact with the floor was ruined. I was absolutely dumbfounded by the damage. The home was almost considered by the insurance company to be a total loss and everything in it was totaled. What would cause a valve like that to fail? It can be many things, too much water pressure from the meter over a long period of time can cause valves to fail, a sudden burst of pressure can cause it, and face it some shut off valves just get old corroded and fail. Other things that can happen are the hot water heater can go critical and the T&P valve can blow off or worse yet not blow, pipe joints can fail over years, toilets can be stuck and overflow, cold weather can cause freezing of pipes, even an unknown crack caused in a previous winter that has had just a small indiscernable leak can suddenly burst and cause vast damage. The list can go on and on including vandalism when a home has been broken into and the vandals turn the water on…think “Home Alone”..lol.
The bottom line is if you’re going to be away for more than a brief period of time it doesn’t hurt to turn the water off at the main shut off or at the street (if you have the tool). Additionally anytime you are going to impede the water flow especially hot water, shut the circuit breaker or gas line off to your hot water heater because you can do permanent damage to a hot water heater that has no water in it. You should also refer to an earlier blog I wrote about how to winterize your home to get details on how to properly drain a house for cold weather.