Plumbing Priorities Before You Leave for Vacation

When getting ready for a vacation, we often focus on planning the details of the trip, without preparing our home plumbing system for the time we’ll be away. This can be an expensive mistake. To avoid plumbing disasters, it’s also important that your home is prepared. You don’t want to return from a holiday, then walk into a home with a leaking toilet or burst pipe. Consider these plumbing priorities before you leave for a vacation:

1. Turn off the main water supply of your home.

It’s important to know the exact location of the main valve controlling your home’s main water supply, especially in an emergency.

And if you’re going on a holiday, the best way to avoid catastrophic water damage is to make sure the main water supply is turned off before leaving the house. Shut off the main valve whenever you leave home, even if you’d be gone only for a day or two. You might need a wrench to get it done, but often it can be shut off by hand.

2. Drain water pipes for winter

Draining the pipes should be on your winter preparation checklist, too. If you’re leaving for an extended amount of time without any heat, drain water pipes to avoid damaging them while you’re gone.

When frozen pipes burst, they can fill your home with water and cause damage. To drain the pipes, shut off the main valve first, then open all sink faucets, starting at the top floor until you reach the basement. Then, open the tub and shower faucets before flushing all toilets. Leave the faucets in the open position.

3. Adjust your water heater

Unless you’ll be gone for a month, it’s unnecessary to turn off your water heater. Simply set it to Vacation mode. If your water heater doesn’t have this feature, you can manually adjust it by lowering the temperature to 50 to 70 degrees to keep it from cycling on and off so often. This will save you money.

Long vacation? Be sure to consult your unit’s manual if you need to drain and shut off the water heater before leaving. Alternatively, you can also give us a call.

4. Clean out your garbage disposal

Your garbage disposal works with your home plumbing system to get rid of food waste, which you wouldn’t want to smell when you return home. A dirty garbage disposal is also the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Wash food waste down by running cold water while the garbage disposal is in use.

Need help?

Having peace of mind while you’re away on a holiday is priceless. But if you still need help, CONTACT US! We’ve made it simple and easy to schedule an appointment online or through our app!

You may reach out to us for any plumbing installation, repair, and maintenance job. We can help you get one step ahead of costly plumbing repairs and the stress they cause. Whether you’re dealing with a clogged pipe, dripping faucet, or low water pressure, we can fix it.