I think periodic checking is good for a number of reasons. Sounds like your assistant was good for this current time. But while you are gone for the next time and a whole month, if ShawDD is living near or living there, can she not check? But if she is also going to be away…good to think about a safety net.
Limiting who knows you are gone is important, but one never knows about those around the trusted few.
We have been fortunate that our trusted neighbors across the street are usually gone at different times than we are, and we each take care of mail, plants, and if recycling goes out to the curb (once a month). We did use backup help a time or two when we were all gone.
Wow about @1214mom having heating issues while gone. Things can happen over a month period of time.
H finally decided after waiting many many months for the Toyota Camry (he test drove in Jan) that he had ordered and put a deposit down for that he actually would prefer and deserves a more luxury car, a Lexus. He told the Toyota salesman that he would prefer that he be mailed back a check for his deposit and on Tuesday, we will test drive a Lexus. I told him, “If not now, when?”
It’s Toyota’s loss that they took so many months to get H’s car in stock—H was ready to buy the car in Jan!
I learned that the hard way. Despite having a caretaker, our vacation place (during early days of Covid) had a pipe burst (we go year round and don’t close up). Not sure why the pipe burst, but it resulted in the dining room ceiling partially collapsing and damaging a cherry dining table and chairs. As a result, I’d never leave a house alone for a month. Maybe a weekend, but my daughter’s in-laws live in the same town and we check on each other’s houses. It works out well.
We would never leave our house for any vacation without turning off the main water valve. We just had too many water issues over the years. There was never any issue turning it back on.
The one exception happened when the house was empty because we had moved out. The day of the home inspection, our stupid realtor managed to somehow turn it on so quickly that it burst a flexible pipe under the bathroom sink.
Same here. We turn the water off to the AZ house when we leave for the summer (and fill the traps and toilets with RV fluid). When we leave the cabin for the winter, we turn the water off and blow out the pipes. But, we always turn the main valve off at both places if we leave for even a few days.
Til now, we could now (with an extra new shutoff enabling sprinklers to work), we would have lost our lawn if we turned the water in the heat of the summer.
Fortunately, our daughters and other family members live close by so they’ll stop by and check on things. #2D has all of her packages sent to our house so there’s always a reason to visit. Because of that, though, we can’t just stop the mail in case something comes USPS. With our long trip this fall, we’ll coordinate so it’s stopped while we’re all overseas, but she’ll be able to get any last-minute deliveries before she gets on a plane.
USPS Informed Delivery helps a lot.
All of our bills are set up either on autopay or they can be paid online. I remember leaving our house sitter in years gone by a stack of stamped envelopes with instructions to mail on certain dates.
We can’t turn all the water off in the summer, since my neighbor will turn on the hoses for me to water the garden and the plants. Besides shutting off things inside, is there a way to just keep the outside water on?
Some places in our area have two water meters (one is for water for water/sewer and the other is water for outdoor water use).
We have a septic system so we don’t get charged by the city for sewer. We have an indoor switch in our storage area to turn off/on the water to the house, but IDK if that also supplies our sprinkler system and the front and back water hose (might not affect sprinkler but most likely affects the hose knobs on the house).
The cost for a plumber to put a water turn off could be considered - if it is doable and something prudent to do. We had ours specified with our plumber as we built our home, so we have had it all along. Makes it easier to do than from the valve close to the street (shut off is there maybe by code).
We turn off the water in our vacation house when we are leaving if no one else is coming shortly thereafter.
I don’t believe we have ever turned the water off in our main house. I think we may have a three week period where we are away and had 16 days when we were in Asia. A few people check on the house. My assistant probably twice a week. Our cleaning lady comes and does areas she hasn’t gotten to so maybe once or twice during the first week or two of our absence. And we do have water sensors.
We also had a house sitter once in our old house and they created a flood in the basement that they didn’t tell us about until later and we had to remediate for mold. So house sitters are not a panacea.
But, I will ask ShawWife if we have a shutoff valve for just the inside. Thanks.
DH is considering the water sensors for our home areas - and our insurance (USAA) will give a deduct on homeowner’s insurance – they have very specific guidelines on it. Doable. Since we will be moving, whatever he learns/does in this house will be good to implement on the house in new state (once that all happens).
We had a leaking toilet in the bathroom DH started using the toilet – it is a bathroom off our upstairs hallway. It happened when we were home. A small plastic piece in the tank broke, and water started leaking on the floor and then went down to the ceiling in the garage. We first saw the wet ceiling and then saw the wet floor in the bathroom. Everything dried out – DH treated areas to prevent mold, and replaced the tank kit for the toilet; have to repaint the garage ceiling that shows the water line. Thankfully no substantial damage. The water ran down and did not continue to the hallway carpeting. But this has DH interested in the water sensors.
We don’t have water sensors inside but we do have an alert on our water meter that lets us know if water use is abnormal. We used to turn off house water but now I like to have the cleaning person come right before we get home so leave the water on.
We also have a shutoff valve for the house water. It comes in handy when my husband is trying to diagnose where we have a leak.
The only way to prevent water leaks that would be on your dime is to shut the water off at the meter. You main from the meter to the house can break, too. Ask me how I know
Anything after the meter is the homeowner’s responsibility. Anything before (and the meter itself) is the responsibility of whoever is providing your water supply.
Our water meters are put at the right of way line, so the line from there to our house is our responsibility. Anything from the meter to the water main in the street (within the right of way) is the City Utility Company’s responsibility. Same with the sewer. No sewer meter, but a clean-out and in the absence of a cleanout, the right of way is the line.
I recently inquired to my water & gas contact (co-worker) about getting a little tool so we could turn it off at the meter. Many years ago we twice needed to shut it off ASAP. My neighbor (also a co-worker at the time) had one. But my contact said they do NOT like the homeowners turning it off, because most of our are old and can easily break. If the homeowner breaks it, it’s their responsibility to fix it. Call the emergency number and they will turn it off.
The main water shut off in our house is in a royal gross & disgusting PITA place to get to. Much of our 115 year old dirt basement is full depth, but some is a crawl space - but you have to climb up there from the full depth part. Of course, the shut off valve is WAY at the front end of the house in the crawl space. Anytime I’ve brought a plumber to our basement and they see where it is, their shoulders just sag…
In my home in NJ the meter was in my basement. I installed a "ladies’ handle shut off valve (a lever instead of a knob) so we could shut down easier at the meter. If something had happened between that meter inside the house and the line to the street, that pipe was still my responsibility. Same with sewage line out, my responsibility until it reached the street. BTW the street was a good 100 feet from the end of my house. I do think there was probably another cutoff at the street which would only be accessible by the water company (buried underground?)
