Should I Turn Off My Water Before I Go on Vacation? See What This Plumber Does
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Is it OK to shut off your water when on vacation? Yes, shutting off your water before you go on vacation is a good idea to prevent damage to your home.
Jim, the Grumpy Plumber, shares the benefits of turning off your water while on vacation and how to turn off your water.
Turn off your city supply line or your main water shut-off valve before you go on vacation. Valves, braided stainless steal lines, appliances, pipes, etc can all break during your vacation. Save yourself the hassle of home damage and calling the insurance company by shutting off the water to your home before you go on vacation.
Cold climate, warm climate, or a short vacation: you should take a minute to turn off the water in your house.
Watch the video for details.
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Thanks for watching!
If you turn off the water, should you also turn the electric to the water heater off?
I turn the water off, the ice maker, the A/C and set the water heater to low before trips. Works for me. No freeze concerns in So. Cal
I do this every time I go on a vacation. Years ago, I had a friend have a water leak (like he said he had never seen). It took them almost one year to correct the mold issues and rebuild the plumbing...
I do too, if you see the cost of damage caused by any such leaks, particularly if hoses or HWH are old but not yet in the replacement age. I turn off mains, as its one and done, as well as depower the HWH. In multistory apartments, it will be more than your apt that will be affected by leaks, and you could be sued too. I also installed leak detector electric shut offs for the times I'm not home but not as long as vacations as well as water alarms in passive systems like under sinks, and dishwasher. My dishwasher water inlet valve failed after 35 years, and leaked suddenly without warning, so I got it stopped in time, but the valve is normally shut depowered, so it failed to shut as I was doing a load and was home so water overflowed in the dishwasher. So, far no water damage in 45 years with these practices, knock on wood. .
It's great to exercise your valves anyhow
Fun vids…may have segment of change-out of all angle-stops to 1/4 turn avoid frozen or disastrous break off of stem…be there! 😩
how to turn the water back on? Do you open a faucet , all the faucets, open the valve slow fast… I can’t find any videos on this and it would be really helpful when you come back from vacation and need the water back on or maybe replace the valve at your main house shut off balance and now the water company turns the water back on at the meter what do you have open?
This is a great idea! I need to consider this next time we leave for a few days.
So, so, so helpful, including knowing the credentials!! Thank you!
What about a gas water heater? Do you leave it on vacation mode or just turn it off completely?
What about also cutting off the hot water heater?
Eli Garcia, if you have an electric heater, turn the power off. If it’s a gas heater, turn the thermostat down to pilot or vacation.
I’m a fan of the grumpy plumber! Great invite into all my plumbing needs. I think he’s a nice guy, not grumpy!
I went the a ground floor flat, and there was water coming though the ceiling above, from the flat above, who were away on holiday, but the water had frozen, and when the ice has thawed out, water was coming out of a burst pipe, flooding their place, and the flat below, all for the sake of not isolating the water supply,, and leaving the heating on at " frost protection level., better safe than sorry. by eliminating problems
If you turn off your main water. Does it turn of the fire sprInkler system in your home? Like newer homes has these to protect your home against fires. It in the ceiling and roof attic etc.
There should be a separate shut-off for your house water and a separate shut off for fire protection. The fire protection should be locked, usually with a chain around the handles, so it won’t shut off. Only a fire protection company should work on that.
Sound advice. Water damage can cost so much with so little water running. We had a hose burst on the back of our washing machine. Luckily, I went back downstairs about 15 minutes after my wife started the laundry that night, or it would have run for 6-8 hours unchecked. That 15 minutes cost us about $15,000, and we were fighting with the insurance agency, who was trying to help us as much as she could without losing her job. We had 6 or 7 contractors come out to give us quotes, but only 1 actually provided a quote so we didn't have much choice on who did the work. Even replacing the flooring, myself, fixing holes in the sheetrock where the guys pulled the baseboards off the walls caved in the wall, my wife repainting the cabinets, we still had to pay about $,3000 out of pocket. They left the stove high voltage wires sticking out of the floor with no wire nuts or tape or anything to protect them from our 11-year-old daughter or pets. Their excuse - we turned off the circuit breaker. Yeah, well, my wife tripped a breaker upstairs 2 days later and turned it back on by mistake.
So sorry you had this problem! I think these water damage claims are a scam and unfortunately, the insurance companies pay these huge repair prices. I question how some of these contractors even get their licenses.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thanks Grumpy. :0) Yeah, I agree. My dad was a contractor until he hurt his back. He taught me ethics and integrity in business. How some of these people do the type of work they do at the low quality levels and sleep at night is beyond me. I ran a side business doing roof and exterior cleaning, and 100% of my reviews were 5 start except one, and that was the woman I refused to do work for. A perk of owning your own business, you get to decline work if you want. I lost count of the number of homeowners I told them, "Yes, I can clean your roof, but honestly, I think you'd be better off saving that money and put it towards a new roof." Oddly enough, almost all them still hired me to clean their roof. And the people that came in to tear up the floor and such, the first thing they did was tear the baseboard up, and caved in the sheetrock at the same time. I used to work for a company like that doing repairs for water and fire damages. I've taken plenty of baseboard off. If you just take a big putty knife or something similar and put it between the sheetrock and claw (drawing a blank on the name), you won't even dent the sheetrock, let alone punch a hole that needs to be repaired. It was a blessing the lady from the insurance company was who showed up. She literally did everything possible to get us as much money as possible. The guy that came to quote us prices on repainting the cabinets felt bad and while explaining the process, intentionally told us every step and what products would be required so we could do it ourselves.
My brother's family came back from a weekend trip and found the the basement flooded. A washing machine hose broke. The floor drain must have clogged early on from floating debris. Should I shut off my gas water heater after I shut the water main valve?
Thank you very much!! For that info.
Thanks for the advice
I installed a ball valve at the main that is easy to shut off.
Excellent idea Paintnamer.
What should I do about my gas water heater if I shut off the house water for a week vacation?
MegaBen, just turn the thermostat temperature dial to either vacation or as low as the dial settings can go. That leaves the pilot on so when you get home, you can just return the dial to normal.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber thank you!
I have a three story house finished basement main floor and upstairs. Water comes into the basement from the street. Anytime go on vacation o turn off the water. I get nasty air bubbles in line. I want to minimize this. When I come back what is the procedure for turning water back on?
Start at basement let the air out of lines. Then flush toilet in basement. Then go to main floor open faucets then flush toilet. Then goto top floor and repeat. Some guides say start with the top floor and work your way down but others say start at lowest level abs work your way up.
My goal is to minimize the air getting trapped in the lines when I turn it back on.
If you are just going on a vacation or a long weekend, just turn off the water main. Do not relieve the water pressure. When you come home, just turn on the water. If you go away for the winter and live in a cold climate, you will want to open the faucets and drain the pipes to the lowest level like the basement. When you get back home, turn the water main back on and start in the basement. When you have good water flow, turn it off and work your way to the highest faucet. Make sure the hot and cold water are both on as you do this.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber thanks so much! Should I turn down my hot water heater as I don’t have an expansion tank to keep pressure from building up too high while I’m gone?
During this freeze in Texas I was planning on turning the main valve off and draining the pipes. My question is do I leave one or all the faucets on while water is off? Is it not ok to just shut off all faucets?after draining? Also when I put the water back on do I run every faucet both hot and cold or is one faucet ok?
Appreciate your help.
@dedeisblessed, turn off the main water, open up all the faucets so water drains to the lowest point, turn the electric power off to the electric heater or if gas, turn the gas valve to pilot or vacation. When turning back on, let the water run until you have water to all faucets, hot and cold, before turning heater back on. If the water heater is located in the attic, it could siphon the water from the heater. That’s why when you turn the water on, you want to make sure you have water and no air coming out of the hot side. Stay warm.
Thank you so much for this video! I didn't know shutting off the water before going on vacation was something people did until today. Would shutting off the main water line valve that's inside the house be enough? Or is it better to shut the water off from the meter outside? I'm spending the holidays at my sister's this year, and I'm afraid the pipes might freeze if my furnace goes out.
Just turn the water valve off inside the house and open up all the faucets. Turn the power off to an electric water heater and turn the gas heater to pilot or vacation. Enjoy your holidays with no worry!
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Is there a risk of mold/legionaire with turning off the electric heater? Or should I just put it on vacation mode?
I’ve never heard of that happening. When you turn the heater back on, I would think it would probably kill the bacteria, if there was any.
Thank you for the video! Very helpful. I have a question... I am on well water and am going on vacation for 10 days. I have an oil burner for heat, which also feeds an electric indirect water heater tank. Also have a radon bubbler, water softener, and uranium softener. If I wanted to shut off the water main valve, should I also then turn off the power to all other systems while we are gone?
Turn off the water. Don’t turn the boiler off because it doesn’t use any water. The water heater will not use water while you’re gone so leave that alone. Turn the power off to the water heater. The radon bubbler, water softener and uranium softener operate on water flow, if they are the new generation. So, it is not necessary to turn the power off to them. Enjoy your vacation.
Thank You!
If you'll be gone for an extended period, would you shut off the gas to the water heater?
Put your water heater down to pilot and have a good trip.
We live in northern Ohio. We go to Florida for the winter. Just started this. We have a well. The only way to shut our water off is to hit the breaker for the well pump. Should we do this for the 4 months we are gone?
Yes, definitely turn the breaker off to the well pump when you are gone for four months. If your power goes off and the pipes freeze, the pump won’t run and flood the house.
So to recap, turn off the main valve and then turn on/off any faucet to relieve pressure in the system, and then you're good to go? What about when you come back, is there a procedure to turn the water back on to not stress your pipes (e.g., turn on a faucet before turning on the main valve)? Thanks for the info.
@ckp2ator389, when you return home, turn the main valve on slowly and then turn on the water supply to the water heater. Open a hot water faucet to clear the air out of the pipes. Turn the gas or electric back on to the heater. If you have a gas heater, turn to vacation or pilot then you don’t have to relight the heater. Turn the power on to an electric heater after you make sure water is coming out of the hot water faucets.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thanks so much for your reply. I am planning on not doing anything to my gas hot water heater as I'm only going to be away 10 days. Any problems with having the main water valve off and leaving water heater as is? I just want to minimize damage if there is a broken pipe. BTW my hot water heater is in my unfinished basement adjacent to a floor drain, so if the tank breaks the water will just drain out to the floor drain.
If you turn off the main water valve and drain the pipes by opening a tap, you will first need to turn your hot water heater/tank off. The reason is your burner is on with not water to heat which can result in serious damage, sort of like plugging in an electric kettle without water in it.
@@Itsme-vo4fx hi so if I turn off the main water city water from the house do I need to turn off the hot water tank from the electric circuit breaker it’s an electric hot water tank thanks
I installed leak detection system. At a sign of leak inside the house motorized main valve activates to turn off the water. I can monitor and control the valve with my smart phone any where any time. Our smoke detectors are monitored same way.
Tony, sounds like you have The Water Cop leak detection system.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Yes, I even installed a battery back up. If Internet goes down it still operates on its own locally. I test it monthly to be sure.
Peace of mind. I know full well the consequences of water leak damages.
Insurance co. gives a little discount on premium payment having the system.
Hi GP (Jim) & Jordan,
After turning off my main water valve before heading out on vacation.
Should my water softener be put in bypass mode when on vacation?
I understand that on a gas water heater to put the control in
vacation mode/lowest setting.
What should I do if I have a Grundfos recirculating pump on my water heater? Leave on or off?
What do you think of these wifi/smart main shut off valves:
Phyn, Moen Flo or other brands you’ve installed?
Have you heard of or used a WAGS hot water heater shut off valve?
Any thoughts on on these WAGS?
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Gary N, the water softener meters the water so if you shut off the valve it’s okay. You do want to turn off or unplug the Circulating pump. I recommend the main house leak defense system and I know there are a lot of brands out now. If you’re interested in getting, get one that shuts the entire house off, not just the water heater.
If i have on demand tankless water heater, do i need to unplug it when i shut off the main water supply in the house? Or can i leave it on and just press the power button off? I live in a cold city, the manual mentioned that i should turn it off, turn off the gas and drain it. Please advice what will be the best thing to do? Will the unit get freezed if its on, but the main water is off? The unit is located in the basement. I also have flo by moen to control the main water supply. Your insight would be greatly appreciated
If you turn the on demand heater off and leave the water on, it will condensate. You’ll think you have a leaky heater. Unplug or turn the switch off on the heater. You should turn the water off to the heater and open up the hot and cold drain valves on the heater. You also want to drain the whole water system if the building could freeze. If the heat is on in the building, then you want to leave the heater on.
I learned that the hard way 😭
So if you have tankless water heaters, you suggest turning off those as well?
I unplug my tankless water heater when I leave for a trip because it has a built in circulating line and I don’t want it to maintain temperature while I’m gone.
Can you please comment on the high-tech leak detecting automatic water shut-off valves (e.g. Flo by Moen, Water Hero, etc)? Do they work? Are they worthwhile? Any caveats?
Yes! I have installed five or six of them. One was called “Water Cop” and the other was called “Leak Defense Systems”. Water Cop senses a leak in the vanity, around the toilet, under refrigerator or water heater and then shuts the system down. The Leak Defense System times the flow of water and shuts it down. I was very impressed with both systems. They work. Thanks for the question.
Do you need to shut off gas water heater, if water supply is off to house?
You can turn the water heater thermostat way down just to save gas but you don’t need to shut off the water to the heater. When you shut the water off to the house, you shut off the water to the heater.
If I am going away for just three or four days, can I shut off the main water line without turning off our gas water heater? Is that safe?
melissa saint, you can shut off the main water line without turning off the gas water heater. You don’t have to worry about the water heater. The water won’t evaporate out of the heater. You don’t turn off the water heater, just turn down to pilot if you’re going to be gone an extended amount of time. Thanks for asking.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thank you so much for your advice!💗❤️💗 When we take our little children on a short trip this summer, my mind will be more at rest and able to enjoy it
Looks like I have 2 turn off valves. One is a blue round turn off and below that is a water meter and below that is a red handle turnoff. When going away for vacation, should I turn off BOTH of these?
Kathie Slife, turn them both off in case one is not a positive shut off.
So what. I’m not even a plumber, and if we’re gone for more than a weekend I shut off the water and power to the W/H, as well as the usual suspects like setting the thermostat up in summer and down in winter. Time and experience tend to reinforce these things. We also have anti-flood hoses on the washer.
All those things can be monitored and controlled by smart phone any where any time. As a part of home automation system.
Should you empty the water in toilet bowls/Tanks, dishwasher and clothes washing machines when going on vacation in cold States during winter ?
@user-xz6fe3kx9s, if you are gone for a couple of weeks or a month, just turn off the main water supply, if you have a gas water heater put on vacation or pilot, for an electric heater turn the power off, set the house temperature at 55 or higher and go and enjoy your vacation. When you get home, turn main water supply back on, turn water heater back on and unpack.
I’m so confused on turning off toilets. I have a condo that my daughter uses when she travels. About 1-2 days per week. The only way to shut off the water to the unit is at the road so we had always just turned off each toilet at the base whenever we left for a week and at the street when longer. Recently I had several plumbers say this was wrong and the valve would wear out and leak. She can’t easily turn water on and off at the street each time. So am I understanding that you turn off your toilets individually when you are away? What risk of leaking at the shutoff does that cause? All of our toilet “guts” and lines are new, shut offs are probably greater than 20 years old.
Lynn, could you have a leak defense valve installed? There are some that are made to be installed at the street shut-off. That would detect any leak or running toilets in the condo.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber great idea! Thanks!
So follow up. Our association won't allow a leak stop valve. I verified that our toilet shut offs are about 13 years old. Would you still recommend that she turn the water on and off when she leaves? It would be about12-15 times per year.
How long do the valves last if you turn them on and off?
Lynn, it shouldn’t hurt the valves to turn them on and off. When you turn them back on, just make sure the packing nut is not dripping. The packing nut is just in front of the handle. If it does drip, it can be tightened. If they are 1/4 turn valves, don’t touch them. Just leave them on. I don’t like 1/4 turn valves because they can snap off easily. The decision is now up to you.
I have an electric water heater. I’m leaving for two weeks. What happens when I shut the water off?
Thanks in advance
Belva BrewerDr, turn your power off to your electric heater and turn the water off to the heater. Turn the water off to the house. Turning off your water does not hurt anything. It’s the best thing to do when you travel. Turning off the power to your heater means it won’t be running while you’re gone and will save you money you can use on vacation. Once back home, turn all three things back on. Enjoy your trip.
Hi, I live in a two story house. I’ll turn off the water at the water main and turn the water heater to pilot. Do I open all the inside faucets or just one? What should I do with the washing machine faucets and should I turn off the water at the toilets? Thank you
Are you turning off the heat in your house? If leaving the heat on, turn the water off and water heater to vacation. Leave the faucets alone. If turning the heat off, you need to drain the whole house and that could get complicated.
Do you recommend leaving the heat on if away during winter?
I recommend that you leave the heat on to your home and turn it down to 55 degrees when gone for awhile.
Thank you!
We're leaving for vacation for a month and turning the water off do I need to turn the water heater off as well, and do it need to be drained
Paula Williams, you are smart to turn the water off to the house when gone. If it’s an electric water heater, turn the power off and if gas, turn down to either pilot or vacation mode. No draining necessary. Enjoy your vacation.
when changing the hot water shut off valve under basin wich water valve should be shut
G R, if you are changing just the hot water angle stop, turn the valve off to the water heater. I would probably turn the water off to the whole house.
One question unanswered.. will the water evaporating in the hot water heater be a problem? Is it possible for all the water to evaporate?
2Driver pls, no, the water in a water heater will not evaporate. If you have an electric water heater, turn the power off. For a gas heater, turn it down to vacation or pilot. When you return, turn it back up again and it won’t take long to heat up.
could leaving room temperature water in the water heater and water tank (for well water) cause bacteria and mold to grow? should these be drained?
Hey GP...I have a customer in Covina Ca and I tried several times to turn off the home water ball valve and the pressure never drops...its a massive house.. Its not a gate valve....its driving me insane GP
Rob Tullius, look for an expansion tank in the system. Those large homes can take time for the pressure to drop. Look for a cross connection. Also look for a diverter valve on a shower or a dog wash or a kitchen sink sprayer or a large bath tub. Make sure it’s in the off position. If the house was built in stages, you could have a cross connection there. You could simply have a broken ball valve, especially if it was never exercised. If the ball valve is in a horizontal position, the lever should be on the side. Hope this helps because I know how frustrating it is to shut some of those big places down.
I live in a condo as well that was built less than 1 year ago so it is brand new. I’m going to be gone for 90 days so shut off the toilet knob, under the sinks and should I do the washer and dryer? Anything else? Thanks
Ted Ramirez, do you have one valve to turn all the water off in your condo? If you do, it would be easier to turn that one valve off. Once you turn it off, open up a faucet to let the pressure off the system and then turn the faucet back off. That’s the easy way to do it. If you don’t have one turn off valve, then turn the water off at the water heater. Then turn off all the cold water angle stops and the cold water at the washing machine. Enjoy your trip.
My water heater is tankless does it make a difference, do I need to turn it off?
Cristero, when I leave for vacation, I turn my main water off and unplug my tankless water heater. Mine has a circulating pump built in. Either way, I’d turn off the tankless wh.
Silly question but should I turn it off each time I leave the house? Any issues with too many pressure changes on the lines due to repeated ON/OFF cycles?
Carlos Quiroz, I recommend turning off your water if you leave your home for a long weekend or a vacation. When you get back home and turn the water back on and the water runs for awhile, that means you have a leaky toilet or water is leaking somewhere. But as far as a pressure change goes, don’t worry about it. However, if your pressure regulator goes bad, then you’ll notice a difference in pressure but that doesn’t bother your piping.
So what happens if im not on vacation and just want to shut off my main valve throughout the day. Will that effect anything
I wouldn’t recommend that. I suggest you install a leak defense valve that will shut off the water if you have a leak. That would be the smart move if you worry about leaks.
@TheGrumpyPlumber okay not to much worried about leaks so far I have good pipes. Just was curious if I should shut off the water whenever I go to work and turn it back on when i come back home to maybe have a lower water bill just was curious lol
I have a pull-up handle water spicket out back that is leaking under the ground how long can I keep my water main off or does it matter
Daleski, sounds like you have what we call a yard hydrant. Does it look like a funny pump handle? If that is it, close the handle and it will shut off about five feet down. Then you can dig it up and repair it later. If it is off, you will not have a leak under ground. You can then turn the water main back on but watch it.
I have the main water line in front of the house shut off trying to get rid of some of the water that's in the hole that I started to dig it up it's going to get in the twenties tonight is it a good idea to have the water off overnightI don't want to cause any more problems
Hi. What should I do for gas water heater after turn off water? Does water heater will do dry burn after water turn off? Thanks
When you are done using the hot water, it will return to the set temperature and shut off. When you go to use it again, it will use about 7 gallons of hot water and start reheating the water and bringing it back up to temperature as you use it. Another thing is, cold water goes into the heater first and forces the hot water out at the top of the heater. I don’t know what you mean by a dry burn. By explaining how a hot water heater works, I hope this clarifies it.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thanks for the explanation, it is very useful information. Does the water heater will over heating if turn off main water value? Then the water heater inside pressure raise too high or keep heating same water cause some other problem?
No PG C, the water in the heater does not evaporate. But, if you are going away and you turned off the water supply to the heater, turn the large dial on the thermostat at the bottom of the heater to low or vacation. When you return, turn the temperature dial back up to your desired temp. I hope this answers your question.
Should you shutoff your gas water heater as well?
WildHorseStudios, you do not want to completely shut down your water heater. Turn the thermostat down to pilot or vacation mode.
Make sure you turn off the power to your hot water heater before you leave.
Just set it to vacation mode.
Why?
Jim needs a haircut 💇
Hay, I wish I had that much hair!