Prepare Your Plumbing for Vacation

How to Prepare Your Plumbing for Vacation

At the beginning of a vacation, you’re filled with optimism, excited by the thought of getting away from the grind for a few days. Toward the end of the trip, though, you may start to feel just a bit of anxiety: What happens if you return home and find that something has gone horribly wrong, perhaps doing damage to your home?

The last thing any traveler wants is to return to a home in disarray. Your plumbing systems can be a major source of concern here. An overflowing toilet or a leak somewhere in the house can cause major water damage, which can be wildly expensive to repair. You never want to get back from a family vacation or a business trip and find that something like this has happened.

The good news is that there are some simple, precautionary tips you can take to get your home plumbing system fully prepared for a vacation. Consider taking some of the steps listed below:

• Before you head out for your trip, you should inspect under all of your sinks, checking valves and looking around toilets to make sure you don’t see any signs of leaks or of water damage. It may just be a small leak now, but if it accumulates or worsens while you are traveling then you may come home to some major damage.
• The most significant source of a potential leak is your washing machine. Check the hose for any leaks, bulges, or kinks.
• It is smart to turn off your water heater, or—if it’s an option on your model—to turn it to the “vacation” setting.
• Go around your house and inspect all of your fixtures, especially looking at sinks in guest rooms or parts of the house that aren’t used as often. If you have any slow drips, make an effort to fix them before you leave for vacation.
• Pull your refrigerator out from the wall enough to make sure the icemaker line isn’t leaking. Even a slow drip could be problematic down the road—and of course, if there’s a puddle of water on the floor then you’ve already got trouble.
• Always make sure you’re furnishing a key to a trusted neighbor, friend, or family member, asking him or her to walk through the house a time or two while you’re gone to ensure that there’s no problem that needs to be addressed.
• Of course, you can always take the even more extreme step of calling the water company and having your water turned off while you’re gone; those on wells can likely just turn off the water at their circuit breaker box. This might be inconvenient, but it is really the only way to absolutely ensure you don’t have water problems while you’re away.

Of course, should the unthinkable happen and you discover that you do need some plumbing repairs made, we’re both ready and able to help address all of your concerns!