Are you planning on heading somewhere warm for spring break this year? If you plan on leaving your home unattended for more than a few days it might be a good idea to shut off the water supply in your home. Even if you are careful to make sure your house stays warm while you are away so your pipes don’t freeze and burst, by turning off the whole house water supply only a limited amount of water can be released from the broken plumbing thus limiting the water damage. The average residential supply line can provide 10 gallons per minute of water, imagine that amount of water leaking for a week.
Flexible water supply lines that are used to connect the dishwasher, refrigerator, toilet or sink are the most likely water lines to fail and cause water damage to your home. Their useful life can be less than five years so it is recommended to replace these lines every 4-5 years, or if possible have a plumber replace them with rigid copper lines.
A sump pump failure can also ruin a vacation. Many manufacturers recommend changing the float switch every two to three years and the entire pump every five to six years. But even if your sump pump is new it can still fail due to a loss of power, that is why a battery backup sump pump is very important, especially for homeowners who have finished basements. Battery backups can cost as much as $500 installed, but if you have a sewer/water backup claim your deductible is not likely to be less than the cost of the battery backup system so the backup system essentially pays for itself.