[defrey12]

Originally Posted by Mrmean58

Unless there is a forecast for extended below freezing temps while you're gone, IMHO there is no reason to turn off the water to the house. We turn off the water to the clothes washer if we're going out of town for two-three weeks.

You’ve never had an ice-maker line blow, have you? Toilet line? They all go unexpectedly…at THE worst times. Shut it off when gone…even for a long day at Disney or whatever.

[defrey12]

Originally Posted by eeroger

Plumbers told us to turn the water back on very slowly. Maybe 1/4 turn at a time. Wait 30 seconds for each turn. This alleviates the pressure. Otherwise, the first stream of water at an elbow joint (usually utility sink) is like hitting a brick wall, which can damage the joint and cause a leak.

Just open the sinks before turning it back on.

[Blueblaze]

Your plumbing is under pressure all the time. Leaving it under pressure when the source is turned off will make no difference whatsoever.

The bigger issue is that cheap plastic shut-off valve. It's there for emergency use only, and is not designed to me messed with all the time. You're liable to cause the leak you're trying to avoid by using it regularly.

The first thing I did when I bought this house was replace that valve (which was already leaking, I might add), along with all those stupid plastic pop-off valves in the house. It cost me about $300 to save tens of thousands. I still get a shiver down my back every time I look at all those plastic stub-outs I couldn't afford to replace. It boggles the mind that those are legal in Florida. All it would take is someone bumping that toilet stub-out while mopping to have a disaster. CPVC becomes as brittle as glass as it ages.

And, yes -- do relieve the pressure when you turn the water back on, by opening a faucet at the far end of the house.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

Your plumbing is under pressure all the time. Leaving it under pressure when the source is turned off will make no difference whatsoever.

The bigger issue is that cheap plastic shut-off valve. It's there for emergency use only, and is not designed to me messed with all the time. You're liable to cause the leak you're trying to avoid by using it regularly.

The first thing I did when I bought this house was replace that valve (which was already leaking, I might add), along with all those stupid plastic pop-off valves in the house. It cost me about $300 to save tens of thousands. I still get a shiver down my back every time I look at all those plastic stub-outs I couldn't afford to replace. It boggles the mind that those are legal in Florida. All it would take is someone bumping that toilet stub-out while mopping to have a disaster. CPVC becomes as brittle as glass as it ages.

And, yes -- do relieve the pressure when you turn the water back on, by opening a faucet at the far end of the house.

I agree about the main shutoff valve. That is why you don't want a home watch company turning your water on and off every 2 weeks or so to flush the toilets, even if you have a metal valve.

[Malsua]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

Is there that much pressure here? Everywhere in The Villages? I don’t feel that I have that much.

I'm a home inspector. I measure water pressure on every inspection. The lowest I've ever found in The Villages was 61psi. The highest was 81. I've inspected homes right off 42, all the way down to Middleton. The average is 67.

If you're pressure is somewhere south of 61, verify with your neighbors. Maybe you're at the end of a line somewhere, possibly elevated.

I've seen pressure on the downstream side of a whole house filtration system well below 61 though. I recommended a filter change on that one.

Above 80 is an issue as standard valves like toilets and such are designed to a max nominal pressure of 80. In those cases a pressure reducing valve might be something to consider as it won't blow past your toilet filler and run it when you're away.

[daca55]

Originally Posted by jarodrig

Say you’re away from the house 7-10 days …. Good idea to shut off the water supply to the house usually in the garage.

Is it advisable to relieve the water pressure in the house by opening the faucets ???

Or , just leave it be after shutting off the valve ??

I always shut the water off to my house when gone for extended periods of time. If you don’t you may come home to a house full of water with everything ruined. I do bleed the pressure only to make sure the the main shut off valve isn’t leaking past the seat when shut. When I do shut the water off I always shut the hot water heater and the ice maker off. I have never came home to a problem. I would definitely recommend it.

[Captainpd]

Originally Posted by eeroger

Plumbers told us to turn the water back on very slowly. Maybe 1/4 turn at a time. Wait 30 seconds for each turn. This alleviates the pressure. Otherwise, the first stream of water at an elbow joint (usually utility sink) is like hitting a brick wall, which can damage the joint and cause a leak.

Just open a house faucet before opening the shut off valve.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

Is there that much pressure here? Everywhere in The Villages? I don’t feel that I have that much.

For about 10 dollars on Amazon, you can buy a pressure gauge that will screw onto an outside hose bibb and measure your house water pressure in less than a minute.

Note that, if the expansion tank on your water heater fails, the pressure in the water tank and the entire house can increase significantly due to thermal expansion.

[Berwin]

Sadly, I learned the hard way to turn the water off when gone for more than a couple of days. Twice. Years ago, we had a house in the DC area and a beach house in Virginia Beach. Came to the beach house one Friday evening for the weekend to find the water heater had ruptured. Restoration company found asbestos holding down the wood parquet flooring so the entire house had to be cleared out and asbestos remediated. Several weeks after everything was fixed, we arrived to find a coupling for the new water heater had failed and all the flooring had to be stripped out again. After that, I turned the water off every time we left for more than a couple of hours.

[MidWestIA]

Our friend left for a few months and the house flooded when on of those plastic shutoffs by a toilet leaked - turn off in the garage

[retiredguy123]

You can replace the plastic main shutoff valve and the plastic push-pull valves with metal valves. But, you will still have a metal valve attached to a plastic pipe. Often, leaks that occur will be at the connection between the valve and the pipe, not within the valve itself. So, good luck.

[HogPilot]

Originally Posted by wisbad1

You should turn a faucet on when you turn water back on so as not to blow pressure tank. You have 60-70 lbs of pressure coming on all at once.

Good tip.
Also I have a recirculating pump on mine. You have make sure it is off too. That was an expensive lesson. I needed a new pump when I returned. I also plugged it into a wireless plug that I can control from anywhere.

[srswans]

Originally Posted by HiHoSteveO

… I also always turn off the electric water heater in garage along with the refrigerator ice maker. NOT the refrigerator itself.
(new houses have gas water heaters I understand, so likely different)…

So, what is recommended for the gas instant HWH? Do I need to shut off gas supply too? And electric supply?

I keep forgetting to ask the plumber.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by srswans

So, what is recommended for the gas instant HWH? Do I need to shut off gas supply too? And electric supply?

I keep forgetting to ask the plumber.

Most tankless water heaters have a built-in vacation mode. You may want to read the user manual to see what this setting provides. The instant, or tankless, water heater runs on demand and while you are away, the demand is zero.

[DavidK]

My advice is to shut off the drinking (potable) water when away for an extended time, open a faucet to relieve the pressure, and then close the faucet. Turn off the electric or gas to your water heater. Homes in The Villages have many features to consider when away for an extended time. I provide an economical, thorough, and customizable weekly home-check service for villagers who are away. If interested, call Dave at (513) 257-1247.