How to properly prep your home for Extended Trip

Do you plan on leaving your home for a considerable amount of time? Make sure you know how to properly prepare your home before you depart. A very important item to consider upon leaving is your plumbing and how to make sure it is shut down so you do not come home to any leaks or worse surprises!

Following the steps below can help you better prepare your home and prevent any unwanted water damage while you are away:

1. Before shutting off your water, flush the farthest toilet from your water shut off valve a few times to clear main sewer. Before you do this make sure you have properly located your water shut off valve. This will make sure the line is completely flushed, getting all of the water out of your home.
2. Next you will want to shut off your water. You will want to go to where the shut off valve is and turn the valve right (clockwise). Check to make sure the water is off by running a faucet or shower. Click here to learn how to shut off your water.
3. Put a teaspoon of vegetable oil down the garbage disposal and run for couple seconds. This will prevent your disposal from rusting and damaging the blades in your disposal while you are away.
4. Shut off power to water heater. Now you shut off your water heater you will want to make sure all your water is turned off, which you performed in previous steps. Once all the water is off you will want to drain your water heater. How to drain your water heater is simply explained in our previous blog here. After your water heater is properly drained, you can now open the relief valve so it is sticking straight up.

Turning off your water heater and taking the extra steps to be sure that your water heater is truly off can save you a lot of stress in the long run. Not only will you not come home to any surprises but you can also save money. A true win-win!

If you have any issues with shutting off your water, Aztec Plumbing & Drains is always here to help! Aztec Plumbing has got you covered from A to Z!