Family returns from vacation to find home flooded, frozen

[stetwood]

A real simple lesson. Turn off your water at the source, whether a well or city water and open several faucets to allow ice expansion.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.

[johnwalkerpa1]

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

No, but it will limit the damage to 80-100 gallons rather than ten thousand 🙂

[Farmboy666]

wnjj wrote:

2oldman wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

2oldman wrote:

wnjj wrote:
The best insurance is having a human check on it.

..checking the weather and looking at the remote thermometer on your smartphone work just a bit better.

Because we all know electronics never fail. 🙂

I think some of you should just stay home.

Or we leave like everyone else but don’t trust “machines” to care for our homes. Having a live human is the best way to know everything is ok. You can speak with them and hear back exactly how things are plus they can take the same measures you would if you were home. Sorry if you don’t have any friends, relatives or neighbors you trust.

I get the human aspect but if something goes wrong at 2 am and they don't check until 10am it might be too late, electronic alarm would at least alert sooner. Still have a warm body checking on things is good.

[Farmboy666]

ljr wrote:
A couple years ago I left the house for the winter with the water off at the valve and the pipes drained. The furnace quit in Feb. The house valve froze and ruptured. I returned to find 28,000 gallons of water in my finished basement.

I now have the township turn the water off at the curb. That involves a fee and some hassle but it’s well worth it.

Do you need to have them turn it off? All of the ones I've ever delt with youc can turn of with a Cresent wrench or water meter key from HD

[Farmboy666]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Standard practice for us when leaving for any activity where we are gone more than a day, shut the water pump off. At most, if something broke, it would only run until the water pressure ran out of the lines.

However, for the last 4 years, we've had my son living with us, with his (now almost 5 year old) son. So, the house is occupied 24x7x365 now. (hoping someday he'll finally move out again!)

Answer to that is shut supply off and drain the pressure then "at most" doesn't happen.

[2oldman]

wnjj wrote:
Having a live human is the best way to know everything is ok. You can speak with them and hear back exactly how things are plus they can take the same measures you would if you were home. Sorry if you don’t have any friends, relatives or neighbors you trust.

Nice insult, but I certainly wouldn't expect or trust any friend to look in on my home every day, as you are implying. There are many tools at our disposal to handle this, humans being one, but not the only one.

[wnjj]

2oldman wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

2oldman wrote:

wnjj wrote:
The best insurance is having a human check on it.

..checking the weather and looking at the remote thermometer on your smartphone work just a bit better.

Because we all know electronics never fail. 🙂

I think some of you should just stay home.

Or we leave like everyone else but don’t trust “machines” to care for our homes. Having a live human is the best way to know everything is ok. You can speak with them and hear back exactly how things are plus they can take the same measures you would if you were home. Sorry if you don’t have any friends, relatives or neighbors you trust.

[fj12ryder]

I guess I'm just one of the foolish. In 50+ years of traveling I have never shut off the water, or had cameras to watch my stuff, or had wifi thermostats to notify me of issues, etc., and believe it or not have never had a single issue. The house was always still standing when I returned home. Amazing. Of course most of the times away from home were only for 3 or 4 weeks at a time.

And believe or not, I never, ever gave it a second thought or worried about it for a minute. Whatever floats yer boat I guess.

[John___Angela]

2oldman wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

2oldman wrote:

wnjj wrote:
The best insurance is having a human check on it.

..checking the weather and looking at the remote thermometer on your smartphone work just a bit better.

Because we all know electronics never fail. 🙂

I think some of you should just stay home.

🙂

[2oldman]

fj12ryder wrote:

2oldman wrote:

wnjj wrote:
The best insurance is having a human check on it.

..checking the weather and looking at the remote thermometer on your smartphone work just a bit better.

Because we all know electronics never fail. 🙂

I think some of you should just stay home.

[fj12ryder]

2oldman wrote:

wnjj wrote:
The best insurance is having a human check on it.

..checking the weather and looking at the remote thermometer on your smartphone work just a bit better.

Because we all know electronics never fail. 🙂

[beemerphile1]

I always shut off the main water valve when leaving on a trip.

I have an alarm system that monitors the house temperature and has water detection. Simplisafe uses a cellular connection so no internet connection is needed.

A coworker had a pipe freeze and break on the second floor while away. Everything below that point was destroyed. The house had to be gutted and rebuilt.

[ljr]

A couple years ago I left the house for the winter with the water off at the valve and the pipes drained. The furnace quit in Feb. The house valve froze and ruptured. I returned to find 28,000 gallons of water in my finished basement.

I now have the township turn the water off at the curb. That involves a fee and some hassle but it’s well worth it.

[2oldman]

wnjj wrote:
The best insurance is having a human check on it.

..checking the weather and looking at the remote thermometer on your smartphone work just a bit better.

[moresmoke]

The Homesitter from Control Products also works well to let you know if something goes wrong. I can verify that the power outage and water alarms work. Haven't had occasion for the temp alarm to go off. Battery backup so a power outage isn't a problem.

[westend]

My BIL and SIL left for a month to Belize. They turned the hot water boiler set at 45f. They also have heated floors in the kitchen and baths. An accessory gas fired space heater is mounted in a stone fireplace. The latter two were turned off. On the second week of their trip, temps fell to -10f and the boiler failed. Before my wife could make her weekly inspection and recover messages and mail, all of the radiators split, as did all the heating system piping. The water main was closed so water supply lines to sinks, toilets and baths were mostly intact. I poured RV antifreeze in all the drains.
I never asked but recovery was probably $65K --$100K.

This year, they are trying 58f on the thermostat and have a phone app to alarm about falling temps. I don't get it, $10K for the month in Belize but can't afford a monthly heating bill. Some folks.