Easy Ways to Prevent Home Water Damage While on Vacation

by Kevin Smith Author

Vacation season is here! Wherever your adventures are taking you, make sure your home is ready for your trip, too. Coming home to water damage is a stressful way to end a vacation. Fortunately, many companies provide 24-hour water damage repair in Smyrna. There are also some simple things you can do to protect your home while you’re away.

Don’t Turn off the HVAC

It’s fine to adjust the thermostat so that your home stays a consistent temperature while you’re away, but don’t turn off the heat completely. If your house gets cold enough, your pipes could freeze and burst.

Give Your Refrigerator a Vacation, Too

If your refrigerator has a button inside that says “vacation mode”, use it. Your refrigerator is always working to keep the temperature inside of it consistent while accounting for the fact that the door is constantly being opened and closed. While you are away, the door will remain closed and the air inside will get very cold. Vacation mode tells your refrigerator that it doesn’t need to work so hard. This is especially important if you have a water filter inside your fridge. If the air temperature inside gets cold enough, your water filter could freeze and burst, resulting in a big mess. Using vacation mode will prevent that from happening.

Shut Off the Water

The best way to prevent water damage while you’re on vacation is to shut off the water to your home altogether. This is easy and covers a multitude of potential problems. If a hose or connection does break, the only water that gets out will be what’s left in the line.

Finding your main water shutoff is easy. It’s usually located near your utilities, often in the basement of your home. Once you find it, a simple twist of the knob or turn of the handle should do it.

Check Your Sump Pump

Your home could also flood from heavy rain while you’re away. Take a minute to check your sump pump by dumping water down inside the basket. When it’s full, the pump should automatically empty it. If not, get it fixed before you leave.

Despite your best efforts, things happen. If you do come home to a mess, call a company that does 24-hour water damage repair in Smyrna. A professional can come out right away and help you with everything from cleanup to making an insurance claim.