Need advice on being away for 6 months

[wceruzzi]

"Great advice and suggestions and I appreciate it. Speaking of water leaks, has anyone tried using one of those leak detection devices? And if so, did you buy one for all the toilets and all the sinks?"

We use FLO by Moen. I have it setup with sensors near potential leaks but it does not need them. If there is a toilet running it will turn off the water and send an alert. Read about it online.

 

[COcheesehead]

I don't think my ice maker can be turned off...Anything bad happen if I turn off the water without turning off the refrigerator ice maker?

It just won’t make ice. I do it all the time.

 

[Retired Expat]

It just won’t make ice. I do it all the time.

There is usually a bar or something that tells the ice maker it is full. You can usually lift it and that shuts off the ice maker. Newer fridges now have a button.

 

[COcheesehead]

There is usually a bar or something that tells the ice maker it is full. You can usually lift it and that shuts off the ice maker. Newer fridges now have a button.

Our fridge is 3 years old. I have never touched a button or moved a bar. We just shut off the water. If it gets no water, it does nothing.

 

[bcbix001]

I did not read all the comments but have been on the 2 house mode for a number of years. I installed a Flume water meter monitor which will detects leaks and unusual water usage. Was concermed about this after walking past vacant houses that had broken sprinkler that could have run for a long time before a home watch person came by. Same with water lines going out to docks or hoses going to a pool that got left on and ran up thousands in water bills.

I also installed a yo-link system which can inexpensively monitor doors, water leaks (including ac pan), temperatures (house and freezer). Many people have home watch but they don't check all that frequently and a small problem can become very bad given a week or two. Having a friend you can call as needed is great or even a regular home watch but the added ability to catch a problem asap and send them to check ir out.

 

[BubbaChris]

We have a home watch service that charges $45 for each visit if on a 2-week schedule, $55 if once a month. We shut off the house water main in the garage, they turn it back on to run faucets, showers, dishwasher rinse cycle, and flush toilets. Then they turn it off again.

We get a written report with photos after every visit, and they’ll meet a contractor/handyman at our house if something comes up. If I leave extra HVAC filters, they’ll change them if they see too much dust on them during a visit.

We ask the USPS to do a temporary change of address (for free). On our first short season we paid for their premium forwarding, which was nice before we went paperless for most everything we could.

Best regards,
Chris

 

[FinancialDave]

I did not read all the comments but have been on the 2 house mode for a number of years. I installed a Flume water meter monitor which will detects leaks and unusual water usage. Was concermed about this after walking past vacant houses that had broken sprinkler that could have run for a long time before a home watch person came by. Same with water lines going out to docks or hoses going to a pool that got left on and ran up thousands in water bills.

I also installed a yo-link system which can inexpensively monitor doors, water leaks (including ac pan), temperatures (house and freezer). Many people have home watch but they don't check all that frequently and a small problem can become very bad given a week or two. Having a friend you can call as needed is great or even a regular home watch but the added ability to catch a problem asap and send them to check ir out.

This is some of the best advice I've read about water problems. The issue is many leaks cannot be detected with leak detectors - such as a stuck open drain stopper inside the toilet tank. This can happen if your only defense to the toilet issue is to have someone come by once a week and flush the toilet. A typical toilet can "run" between 5000-7000 gallons a day. Easily detected if you have a way to "read" the meter remotely on demand.

However, it is very hard to detect the kind of leak that happened to a relative recently. They were gone for two weeks and a small hole had developed at the top of a capped off copper pipe inside the wall of master bath. It had probably started leaking before they left on their trip. By the time they got back the water had soaked the carpet and subfloor in the bath and master bedroom and closet and mold in the walls of said bath where the leak was. Insurance paid but major hassle and time involved to get repairs done.

Hard to have avoided the above, except shutting off all water from the street or well would have at least minimized the damage.

 

[COcheesehead]

Shut your water off before you leave. I know so many folks who have had water damage that would not have happened if they took a minute to turnoff the main value.

 

[Koolau]

The post office will only officially hold mail for 30 days and recommends temporary forwarding if you need longer than that. I talked to my local postmaster last winter, and she let me go three months by doing 3 consecutive 30 day holds. New postmaster this year, so I don't know that I'll get away with that again.

Keep in mind that some institutions/companies will not allow their mail to be forwarded. We found this especially true with banks. You can change your mailing address for such mail or, have it sent to a PO Box and have someone grab a month's worth of mail from your box and mail it to you (that's what we do with thing's we've found that can't be forwarded.)


Have you looked into things like BMV stuff (tags renewal, insurance proof, inspections, etc.) In our situation, our tags come due when we are gone. We have a friend mail our BMV mail to us and fill out the forms/send the check. When the tag/sticker arrives in our POBox, our friend puts the sticker on the license plate. He also drives our car once a month. Since we are in a condo, most maintenance is done for us. Should there be a leak, our downstairs neighbors will know quickly. Our mainland place is baby-sat by the owner (my niece) for 8 months of the year.



It does get complicated. Gummint issues (like BMV, etc.) don't make it easy for you. Ours don't forward and you don't dare let anything lapse. YMMV

 

[walkinwood]

You should definitely put in water leak sensors under every sink / toilet / washer / dishwasher / refrigerator. YoLink makes a very good product that includes a solution that will shut off your water mains if a leak is detected. It works even if the internet and power are out.



We had a leak and significant damage earlier this year. I now have these sensors and don't feel the need to turn off the mains when we leave.
https://shop.yosmart.com/pages/yolink-smart-water-solutions


Youtube has videos on how these solutions work.

 

[Koolau]

You should definitely put in water leak sensors under every sink / toilet / washer / dishwasher / refrigerator. YoLink makes a very good product that includes a solution that will shut off your water mains if a leak is detected. It works even if the internet and power are out.



We had a leak and significant damage earlier this year. I now have these sensors and don't feel the need to turn off the mains when we leave.
https://shop.yosmart.com/pages/yolink-smart-water-solutions


Youtube has videos on how these solutions work.

From a quick look at the site, it seems complicated and expensive. Yes, I know, one leak can be very expensive. Still, is this the sort of "fix" something we all need? What is the risk/benefit ratio? I'm honestly not trying to be critical. I really want to know other folk's thinking on this idea. We have installed things like braided steel covered hoses for the washer and the fridge. And in our condo, most water comes up through the floors and there's no easy way to get to places to shut off the water.

Personally, in 76 years, I've had one significant pressurized water leak (heh, heh, lots of drain leaks, though.) I was able to detect it visually and stop the water flow and resolve the issue with help of a plumber. Damage was relatively light. Most people would have spent a $grand or two to redo the floor tile, but we have just lived with it as the house belongs to my niece (she rents to us and she paid the plumber.) I don't want to cause her the repair expense since the issue is mostly cosmetic. I've lived a lot trashier than that! YMMV