Every House Has a Story
Why Turn Off the Water When Nobody Is Home?
If a pipe bursts while your Florida home is vacant, you do not want the first warning to come from the guy walking his dog:
“There's water coming out of your garage. You might want to check on that.”
Don't ask why we know about calls like that.
When we managed vacation rentals, the homes were sometimes empty for a few days between guests. In that situation, the water normally stayed on. The house was still active, and cleaners, maintenance workers, or arriving guests needed water.
A seasonal home left unattended for several weeks or months is different.
A plumbing failure is not always a dramatic pipe bursting inside a wall. It can be a small supply line behind a toilet, underneath a sink, or behind the refrigerator. If the main water remains open, that small failure can continue leaking until somebody finally notices.
By then, the water may have traveled beneath cabinets, flooring, and walls before eventually reaching the garage or becoming visible outside.
Our preference is to keep the plumbing filled and under normal pressure, but close the main valve at the house. We do not drain the system.
If something fails, the pressure releases and a limited amount of water can escape. It may be more than just the few gallons held inside the pipes because the home can have a water heater, toilet tanks, or other connected equipment. But once that available water is gone, no additional water can enter through the closed main valve.
During the next visit, the valve is opened slowly while we listen and feel for water moving through the pipe. A brief sound while pressure equalizes may be normal. If the water continues rushing when nothing should be using it, we stop and determine why.
The faucets are then run, toilets are flushed, drain traps are refilled, and the visible plumbing areas are checked. Before leaving, the system is returned to normal pressure and the main valve is closed again.
Plumbers have different opinions about the best way to leave a vacant home. This is the method we prefer based on many years of caring for Florida properties.
Turning off the main valve may not prevent a pipe or supply line from failing. It prevents the failure from being continuously supplied with more water.
And hopefully, it keeps the neighborhood dog walker from becoming part of the emergency response plan.
Every Home Is Different
Fire sprinklers, irrigation, pool equipment, water-treatment systems, appliances, and other equipment may require their own water supply. The home's plumbing configuration should always be understood before establishing a shutoff procedure.
Related stories: What Is That Smell? and Why Heat 50 Gallons of Water for an Empty House?