Anonymous wrote:Shutting off the main without also draining the pipes will not prevent pipe freezing.
Close the main, then open every faucet in the house and flush the toilets.

What do you do with the hot water heater? Do you shut that off?

Anonymous wrote:The water in the toilet tank and bowl will freeze, and maybe crack the fixture. Do you need to put antifreeze in the water?

If it's getting cold enough inside the house that the toilets might freeze you need to do a complete winterproofing of the whole house. That's a much bigger job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do it every time I go away. Turn one handle, open one tap. Reverse the process when I get home. No reason not to.

m

Some plumbers think using the shutoff valve that much can actually cause problems.

To their bottom line, yes.

If the valve can't handle being turned a few times a year, replace it with one that can.

It's true that if a valve isn't turned often it can get stuck, and then break when you try to turn it. That can be a real problem in an emergency like a broken pipe. Turning the valve a few times a year is a good way to keep that from happening and to keep you aware if the valve needs replacing.

Anonymous wrote:I do it every time I go away. Turn one handle, open one tap. Reverse the process when I get home. No reason not to.

m

Some plumbers think using the shutoff valve that much can actually cause problems.

I had my toilet supply line burst inside the wall the week of 4th of July. It was shooting water through the wall for 1-7 days. My bathrooms back up to one another, so I spent 4th of July with a handyman (because my plumber was camping for the holiday) ripping out walls, toilets, vanities, tile, subfloors. In addition to all that, I also had to do mold remediation under the house.

Shut off the water.

Anonymous wrote:The water in the toilet tank and bowl will freeze, and maybe crack the fixture. Do you need to put antifreeze in the water?

Just drain them.

The water in the toilet tank and bowl will freeze, and maybe crack the fixture. Do you need to put antifreeze in the water?

The water in the toilet tank and bowl will freeze, and maybe crack the fixture. Do you need to put antifreeze in the water?

I do it every time I go away. Turn one handle, open one tap. Reverse the process when I get home. No reason not to.

This is unnecessary

Thanks for posting this. I didn’t know this was a thing…leaving for a week and planning to do this too.

Shutting off the main without also draining the pipes will not prevent pipe freezing.
Close the main, then open every faucet in the house and flush the toilets.

It’s one handle turn. Do it.

Do it. It's such a small thing that can go a long, long way. Especially in winter.

Leaving eaaaarrlly Monday morning and returning late (after 11) Tuesday night. Should we turn off the water? I usually would but its 48 hours or less. Im keeping the heat on at 65. Anything else we should realistically do? Our washer and dryer are in the same room with HVAC so it stays somewhat warmer than it would in a different non-insulated part of the house.