Family returns from vacation to find home flooded, frozen

wnjj wrote:

2oldman wrote:

stetwood wrote:
Maybe add some pink stuff to toilet tanks and bowls. This may cost a few dollars but makes for cheap insurance. Have a relative or neighbor check house daily if possible.

I don't want cheap insurance, I want good insurance. No mention of leaving the heat on??

Read post #2 above. Leaving the heat on is no guarantee.

Your right! It helps, but no guarantee.

Power outages during Winter storms can leave power out plenty long enough to allow pipes to freeze and or trip circuit breakers that need manual resetting when power returns.

I plan to be gone next winter for a while, but other people will occasionally be using water etc in my house. Need to give this some thought. The Nest thermostat is not a bad idea but it won't work if the power is out, which is the most likely thing to cause my water to freeze.

There are water sensors that alarm if they get wet.... Lots of people have them in their laundry rooms or near the water heater. Some of them will send you a text or even cut off the water if a leak is detected.

hotbyte wrote:

K Charles wrote:
With the water shut off the furnace auto feed won't work and it will quit running when it gets low on water. I will leave the heat on (and water) when we go away. There is a small brook in the basement when it rains hard so I am sure the water will find it's way out. If the heat is off to long the doors don't shut good, the drawers get stuck and the tables worp.

I'm in GA so don't understand what you mean by "furnace auto feed." Is that something related to steam/hot water heating system? Just curious...

Possibly a boiler? Or a humidifier?

K Charles wrote:
With the water shut off the furnace auto feed won't work and it will quit running when it gets low on water. I will leave the heat on (and water) when we go away. There is a small brook in the basement when it rains hard so I am sure the water will find it's way out. If the heat is off to long the doors don't shut good, the drawers get stuck and the tables worp.

I'm in GA so don't understand what you mean by "furnace auto feed." Is that something related to steam/hot water heating system? Just curious...

ScottG wrote:
Turning off the water and opening a faucet is not going to keep pipes from freezing.

But it will minimize damage if pipes freeze, burst, and thaw out. If water is left on, it will flow and flood while person is away on vacation.

With the water shut off the furnace auto feed won't work and it will quit running when it gets low on water. I will leave the heat on (and water) when we go away. There is a small brook in the basement when it rains hard so I am sure the water will find it's way out. If the heat is off to long the doors don't shut good, the drawers get stuck and the tables worp.

My house has a stop and drain system. Turning off the water also drains the cold water pipes and the hot water pipes have a drain that opens when the water pressure drops. Opening the faucets helps the water to drain.

Turning off the water and opening a faucet is not going to keep pipes from freezing.

The heat WAS on, the Nest t-stat just told him that it stopped working. OPening faucets does nothing, if you turn the water off, then also drain the pipes.

Opening the faucets isn't going to do anything useful to keep pipes in walls from freezing and bursting.

Turning off the water supply is probably the most important preventative measure. It at least means that a broken pipe will not cause an unending stream of water flowing and flooding once it thaws. This is the difference between a mess and possibly a complete loss. It's also good advice even if it's not freezing weather as leaks can sometimes come from causes other than ice.