Leaving Town? Ten Minutes That Protect the House
An empty house is where plumbing failures do the most damage, because nobody is there to hear the drip. A short, season-aware checklist before you lock the door.
September 13, 2026 · 5 min read
Most of the serious water damage we are called to is not caused by a dramatic failure. It is caused by an ordinary one that ran for days. A supply hose splits on the first morning of a two-week trip and the house is a swimming pool by the time anyone opens the door. Ten minutes before you leave removes almost all of that risk.
Water
Turn off the main
For any trip longer than a couple of days, close the main water shutoff. In most homes around Rockwall it is a valve where the supply enters the house, often in the garage or a utility closet, or at the meter box near the street. If the house has a sprinkler system on a separate tap, it keeps running. If the sprinklers tee off after the main valve, decide whether the lawn or the peace of mind matters more; in July it may be the lawn.
If you cannot or would rather not close the main, at least close the valves behind the washing machine and under any toilet that has been temperamental. Those two are the most common sources of a flood in an empty house.
Relieve the pressure
After closing the main, open a tap for a few seconds. That drops the pressure in the lines so nothing is sitting under strain while you are away.
Water heater
A gas tank heater has a vacation setting on the control; use it. An electric one can be turned off at the breaker. There is no point heating fifty gallons for an empty house, and a heater that is off cannot overheat. Note that if you have turned off the main water, do not leave an electric heater powered on: if the tank were somehow to drain, the elements would burn out. Turning both off is the safe order.
Thermostat
In summer do not turn the AC off. Set it to somewhere around the high seventies to low eighties. That keeps humidity under control and protects wood floors, cabinets and anything in the attic from a week at 95 degrees indoors. A house that has heat-soaked for two weeks takes a long time to recover and can grow mildew in the meantime.
In winter set the heat to the mid fifties and leave it on. The point is to keep the pipes in exterior walls and the attic above freezing, not to keep the rooms comfortable. If a hard freeze is forecast while you are away, open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls before you go and leave them open.
The rest of the list
- Change the air filter so the system is not running restricted for two weeks.
- Check the condensate drain is clear in summer. A drain that backs up while you are away is a ceiling repair when you get back.
- Run the garbage disposal with water and leave it empty.
- Pour a cup of water into any floor drain or rarely used shower so the trap does not dry out and let sewer gas into the house.
- Check the attic pan under the water heater is dry before you go.
- If you have a leak-detection shutoff valve, confirm it is armed and its sensors are dry.
Coming home
Open the main slowly. Listen for running water in a quiet house before you turn on anything else; that is the easiest moment you will ever have to hear a leak. Then turn the water heater back on, and give it an hour before expecting a hot shower.
Family-owned in Rockwall, licensed and insured. TX Master Plumber TXM11693, TX HVAC TACLB2360E.
Frequently asked
Should I turn off the water for a weekend trip?
It is cheap insurance and takes a minute. For a long weekend, closing the washing machine valves at minimum is worth doing.
Is it bad to leave the AC off in summer while I am away?
In North Texas, yes. Indoor humidity climbs, the house heat-soaks, and everything from wood floors to electronics suffers. A warm setting is much better than off.
What temperature should the heat be set to in winter if the house is empty?
Around the mid fifties keeps the pipes safe in most homes. If a hard freeze is forecast, a little higher and cabinet doors open on exterior walls.
Will turning off the main water affect the sprinkler system?
Only if the sprinklers are fed after the house shutoff. Many North Texas systems have their own tap at the meter; check which yours is before you leave.