While most people may not being going away for vacation this year because of the COVID pandemic, it is still a good idea to know how to properly prep your plumbing for when you do leave the house for a while. Unfortunately, a lot of homes fall victim to plumbing mishaps while the owners are away, including burst pipes, flooding, and more. To make sure that your home isn’t at risk of any of these things happening, we’ve prepped a quick checklist of things to take care of before you head out the door.
Leave the Heat On
While you don’t need to keep it on high, we definitely recommend leaving the heat on low to prevent anything is your house from freezing.
Install a Digital Thermostat
Having a digital thermostat like a Nest can be incredibly useful, as it will allow you to control the temperature of your home even when you’re not there. In addition to that, it can provide alerts for you to let you know if there are power outages or other emergencies with your heating.
Consider Turning off the Water Supply and Draining the Waterlines
If you know that you’ll be gone for a long time, like a month or more, you may actually want to close down the water supply. This is a guaranteed way to make sure that you won’t have any flooding or plumbing emergency while you’re gone.
If You Shut Off Your Water Supply, Turn Off Your Water Heater
If the water supply is turned off in your house, the water heater will be empty. If this happens, and the elements in it turn on, then not only will you risk ruining the water heater, but it can also be a fire hazard as well.
Ask Somebody You Trust to Keep an Eye on Your House
When you’re gone for a longtime, it is always recommended to have someone check up on your house. Specifically if you’re worried about any flooding or issues like that, you can even have you local plumber come by to check up on the plumbing for you to make sure that everything is ok.