The only other thing I can think of is to put peanut oil in all the drains and toilets. This will keep the water from evaporating.

We're also north of 466. I have a valve in the garage which shuts off the house, but leaves the sprinklers on. House built in 1995 district 1. There is also a valve in the lawn to shut off the sprinklers.

You'll sleep a lot better if you just turn the main water off set your thermostat and have a neighbor or friend come in a couple times a month to turn it on, flush the toilets, runs some water, etc., then turn it off when they leave. You will also know if you're having an AC problem that way otherwise you will not and 90 days of heat and humidity is not something you want to come back to.

We have been snow birds for 11 years. When you plan to return and when you actually can could be different. IE a medical problem. We turn off the water. Leave one facet open in case the shut off valve does not shut off completly. Have a friend check the house every few weeks and pour a few cups of water in the sink drain with the open faucet. Builder grade PCV shut offs are poor quality. Replaced ours with brass. Cover toilet bowls with saran wrap. Close all stoppers and seal with blue painters tape including the overflow holes at sinks and tubs. If a trap goes dry you can get bugs coming in as well as gas.
We also: unplug the microwave, turn off the refrigerator, unplug and disconnect tv cable due to lightning, unplug most electrical item.
Welcome to the Villages. Enjoy your ownership

We are north of 466 and that is spot on. Irrigation works when water to house is shut off.

Replacing the plastic valve with brass is a great idea and something I am going to do. How did you shut off the water before the valve so you could replace it?

We do everything the original poster does and have never had a trap dry out. The refrigerator ice maker..... that's a problem.

Hot water tank
 

I also turn off the breaker to my electric hot water tank.

This is one of those instances where you need to take action to protect your asset. Before moving to TV we had a home in Ft Lauderdale that we'd close up in late spring and reopen in early fall. I never shut the water off...it's just asking for trouble. You can shut off the power to your refrigerator and the water to the ice maker...but be sure to empty out the ice cubes that are already in the bin (as they'll melt). Open a box of Baking Soda and put it in the refrigerator (and in your closets) Also, next year it would be a smart idea to clean the rubber seals on the refrigerator doors and then apply just a thin coat of naval jelly to them. Half the time we'd leave the refrigerator doors open (after tossing all the condiments/etc) propped open with folded newspapers hanging over the doors...the other half we'd leave the refrigerator plugged in and left food stuff that we knew would still be okay after 5 months (like the sugar, flour, dry cereal, frozen items etc)...even though we had regular treatment for insects we always store our powder/dry foods in air tight plastic containers

We had a year round neighbor checking the house for us periodically while we were away (the Villages offers this service and we've used it when traveling). We'd also set the A/C temp for 78 and set the humidifier on a low number, we'd leave all the closet doors open, we'd pour a little bleach in the toilet bowls (not in the tanks) and then cover the bowls with plastic wrap...we'd throw some baking soda down the disposal and leave it dry, we never shut the water off. We'd strip the beds and angle the mattress off to the side so air would circulate. BTW the ice I emptied from the bin I'd put in a plastic bag and store in the freezer so that we would have ice upon our arrival. I also would put a couple of ice cubes in a small drinking glass and put them in the freezer. When I returned if the ice had melted and refroze into a solid mass, I'd know that we had lost power for a long time and I needed to toss everything in the freezer/fridge.

My folks had a second home in Vermont Ski country...we learned how to close that place up for weeks/months at a time. Closing a home for a long period of time in Florida is just different than in the colder climates...

OR ... if the internet goes down and device loses it's internet connection and doesn't reconnect .... happened to a snow-bird friend 2 years in a row. Fortunately nothing bad happened. He had a camera so he immediately knew it was down and was able to have someone fix it.

But will attract all the elephants.

The only recourse then is to get an elephant permit, and you know how hard they are to come by.:bigbow:

When I was house shopping in TV I had my dad look at some new homes with me. He has been a GC for 60 yrs. The very first thing to catch his eye is a plastic water main valve. He was shocked to say the least. The other was push/pull shut offs at each fixture. He thought the plastic main valve was illegal in most States and his comment on the push/pull – “cheap.” Dad always got a kick when someone said their house was built to code, to him that meant it was built to a “minimum standard.” Other than his own homes he only built commercial properties but never built anything to a minimum standard. I miss you dad.

Replacing main valve with a commercial grade brass ball valve is the first item on my list after closing.

You can replace the main plastic valve in the garage, but you will still have about 15 to 20 of the push-pull plastic valves inside of your house. If any one of these valves leak, they will cause more damage to your house than the valve in the garage because of their location. The best thing to do is to not open and close the valves very often. Also, I don't think it is a good idea to have a home watch service open and close the main valve every week, unless it is a heavy duty brass valve.

You are correct. Not replacing all the push/pulls at this time is more a matter of budget. However, they are on my “to do” list. The plastic main valve is definitely not something you want to cycle often. I have a phone number of a plumber I met at LSL during the nightly entertainment. Some how I lost his number, but I’m still looking for it. Don’t know if he’s any good but he said he’s put his son through college changing plastic main valves to brass in TV.