Snowbird Plumbing Checklist: Before You Leave and When You Return

Before You Leave

• Shut off the main water valve. This is the single most important item. It's usually at the front of the house near the hose bib, in the garage, or at the meter. If yours is stiff, corroded or won't fully close, have it replaced before you go; a shut-off you can't trust isn't a shut-off.
• Turn the water heater to "vacation" or off. Gas: set the control to vacation or pilot. Electric: switch off the breaker. There's no reason to heat 50 gallons for an empty house, and a heater that fails while you're gone can't leak 24/7 if the supply is off.
• Open a faucet after shutting off the main to relieve pressure, then close it.
• Consider draining the water heater if you'll be gone six months or more, especially if the unit is older.
• Pour a cup of water into every drain and floor drain trap, then a tablespoon of mineral oil on top to slow evaporation. Dry traps let sewer gas into the house, and in Phoenix heat a trap can dry out in a few weeks.
• Close the toilet lids and consider plastic wrap over the bowl to slow evaporation.
• Turn off the ice maker supply and empty the ice bin.
• Leave the irrigation on its own valve if the landscape needs it; make sure the backflow device and the irrigation shut-off are sound, since that's the one line still under pressure.
• Have someone check the house every couple of weeks. A neighbor, a family member or a home-watch service. Water damage in a sealed house in summer turns into mold fast.
• If it's been a while, have the plumbing inspected before you leave. We do a free whole-home inspection with any service call: supply lines, valves, water heater, visible drains and pressure.

When You Come Back

• Open the main slowly, about a quarter turn at a time, and listen. A hiss that doesn't stop means a leak.
• Walk the house and check under every sink and behind every toilet before you turn anything on.
• Turn the water heater back on. Gas: relight or set back to your normal temperature. Electric: breaker on. Give it an hour.
• Run every faucet and flush every toilet to refill traps and flush the lines. The first water will be discolored; that's normal.
• Check the water meter with everything off. If the dial moves, something's leaking.

If You Find Water

Shut the main off again and call. The sooner a leak is found and stopped, the smaller the repair. And if the house had a problem while you were away, call us before you call the insurance company; we'll stop the water first and document what we find.