1. Shut the main off for longer trips
For anything beyond a weekend, closing the main supply is the single most effective thing you can do. If someone is watering plants or checking the house, show them where it is too.
Seasonal Maintenance
Leaving Town? Do These Five Things First
July 21, 20263 min read
A supply line that fails while you're home is a mop and a phone call. The same failure in a house nobody enters for ten days is floors, drywall and an insurance claim. The difference is almost always whether the water was shut off.
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2. Set the water heater back
Many units have a vacation or lowest setting. Turning the temperature down while nobody is drawing hot water saves energy without draining the tank.
3. Check the washing machine and icemaker lines
Braided supply hoses and plastic icemaker tubing are the two most common failure points in an unoccupied home. Look for bulges, corrosion at the fittings and any dampness.
4. Run and drain
Run each fixture briefly, then make sure nothing keeps running. A toilet that never stops filling is a slow leak you won't hear from another state.
5. Give someone a key and a shutoff photo
Text a neighbor or family member a photo of your main shutoff and the water heater location. It takes ten seconds and saves an hour of searching under pressure.
The takeaway
Empty houses don't cause leaks — they just let small ones run for days. Shut the water off and the worst case shrinks dramatically.
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