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Old 06-18-2018, 12:32 AM   #1
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Home water tip while traveling

Hi all, while all of us are concerned with damaging leaks in our eggs, I thought I'd pass on a tidbit for your home while you're traveling. After 30 years with a water district, I can't tell you how many times we got calls from neighbors of water running out of garages when no one was home. The only thing we could do was shut their meter off and leave a tag on the door. All were blown supply lines to the washing machine as few folks turn the machines supply valves off. If your machines are inside the house....
Anyway, just a little FYI and something to add to your leaving the house list .
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Old 06-18-2018, 05:17 AM   #2
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Hi all, while all of us are concerned with damaging leaks in our eggs, I thought I'd pass on a tidbit for your home while you're traveling. After 30 years with a water district, I can't tell you how many times we got calls from neighbors of water running out of garages when no one was home. The only thing we could do was shut their meter off and leave a tag on the door. All were blown supply lines to the washing machine as few folks turn the machines supply valves off. If your machines are inside the house....
Anyway, just a little FYI and something to add to your leaving the house list .
I shut the water off at the main valve when leaving the house unattended for more than a day or two. I also shut off the electric water heater.

Change your washing machine hoses when you change your trailer tires.
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Old 06-18-2018, 06:20 AM   #3
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Being from Northern Wisconsin it took me a few minutes to figure out why water would be coming out of the garage door from the washer leaking
I never saw a wash machine in a garage till I went to California at age 65
When we leave for any length of time , we shut off the valves at the washer , turn the circuit breaker for the well off and unplug household appliances .
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Old 06-18-2018, 08:12 AM   #4
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Not just washer hoses - last year my next door neighbor had a flexible hose burst between the shut off valve and the bathroom sink faucet. She wasn't even on vacation, it happened while she was at work and ran for hours, quite a mess.

So I've been thinking about replacing those hoses to my faucets proactively too.
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Old 06-18-2018, 10:11 AM   #5
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Our neighbors refrigerator water line sprung a leak while they were away for 3weeks. Kitchen & Basement needed to be gutted because of water damage & mold.
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Old 06-18-2018, 10:24 AM   #6
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Our neighbors refrigerator water line sprung a leak while they were away for 3weeks. ...
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Not just washer hoses - last year my next door neighbor had a flexible hose burst between the shut off valve and the bathroom sink faucet...
And a myriad of other fittings and hoses... which is why I use the main shutoff. No water for the entire house. And I shut off the water heater, both to save electric and in case it somehow drains and runs dry (burning out the heating elements).
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Old 06-18-2018, 10:39 AM   #7
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I'm on a well and I always worried about losing pump prime if left too long. Now we have a newer, more modern, and deeper well so it may not have the same issues as or former homes shallow well.


New well sure doesn't have the same soft water! Shallow well in sand with a water layer not too deep VS a well tapping water that has gone through over 100' of rock and gravel to pick up minerals.


If the well shop says no harm I could just shut off pump and bleed off pressure by opening a faucet.
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Old 06-18-2018, 10:53 AM   #8
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Most houses have a water shut off outside. I'm fortunate in that the city water department has a shut off that's a hand valve at the water meter. When ever we leave I turn the water and hot water heater off. Now I can travel without a lot of worry. Speaking worry I used to worry about coming home finding a pile of ashes where house was, not anymore. I have a monitored alarm, including smoke alarm, system. If the smoke alarm goes off the fire department is dispatched, then the alarm company calls me.
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Old 06-18-2018, 09:04 PM   #9
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The supply line to a toilet can fail also, especially the plastic nut that attaches to the toilet tank. Only took 9 months for life to get back to normal. Luckily we are retired so we had time for the disruption.
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Old 06-18-2018, 10:40 PM   #10
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those home leaks are all a sign your household pressure regulator has failed.
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Old 06-18-2018, 11:21 PM   #11
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home water tip

We have a shut off valve that stops all water from entering the house, but the outside lines are live in case of house fire but freeze proof. We shut off all gas and turn off demand water heater, empty freezer ice cubes in case refrigerator goes out. All lines are empty so no leaks.
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Old 06-19-2018, 03:17 AM   #12
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those home leaks are all a sign your household pressure regulator has failed.
Not really John but that can cause a leak too. I had 2 houses that had 125# street pressure that the regulators failed and had no leaks. OTOH, had one that had only 60# at the street and had the supply at the dishwasher blow, go figure. Glad I was in the kitchen when it went. Gaskets, plastic fittings and hoses age out. As others have said, turning the house off is probably the best. After I isolate the fire sprinkler supply from the rest of the house I'll do the same .
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Old 06-19-2018, 06:38 AM   #13
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Drains, or sensors that shut the water supply off, are code here.

Probably most washing machines around here are in the basement. Should a line break, hopefully you have the floor drain nearby. If that is not working a shower would be the next drain, then a toilet, then a sink, then........

There is a reason that insurance insists that if you are not home someone must come in and look around every two or three days. We just get someone to stay in the house. Lots of nieces and nephews, or young adult kids of friends willing to do so.
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Old 06-24-2018, 08:31 AM   #14
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You can get a two-sided shutoff valve to turn off both hot and cold feeds to the washer at the same time.

Another good preventive is steel-braid washing machine hoses. (You probably already have smaller-gauge ones on your dishwasher, sink-faucets, and toilets.) These aren't cheap but they certainly add to the sense of security. And they're passive - you don't have to remember to DO anything.

For my part, I have a whole-house shutoff. But on several occasions, I've had to turn around and come back to shut the dang thing OFF. Fortunately not too many miles out...
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