While there is so much to like about San Jose, there’s something to be said about heading out of town for a few days of vacation. If you’ve got a vacation on your calendar, it’s a good idea to start planning how you’ll get your home ready for your time away. Carefully planning your time away can even help you save some money. One way that you can use careful planning to your advantage is by preparing your home’s plumbing system so that you use less water than normal. Then, when you come home, you’ll be rewarded with a lower water bill. Here are a few tips from your friends at Plumbtree Plumbing & Rooter that will make saving water quick and easy.
Test Your Toilet for Leaks
If your toilet is leaking, you’ll be wasting dozens of gallons of water while you’re on your trip. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to make sure the water in your toilet is staying where it should. To begin, put 20 drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. Don’t flush the toilet for the next several hours. Next, check the toilet bowl to see if any of the food coloring has made its way into the bowl. If you notice that the water is tinted, it means you have a leak. Plumbtree Plumbing & Rooter can help fix the leak quickly so that your toilet doesn’t waste water while you’re away.
Install a Rain Sensor for Your Irrigation System
An irrigation system is an effective and convenient way to keep your landscaping looking lush and green. It’s important, though, that you only run your irrigation system only when it’s absolutely necessary. If it rains while you’re on vacation, you don’t want to waste water by watering plants that have already received natural irrigation. To avoid this problem, it’s a good idea to install a rain sensor as part of your irrigation system. This sensor collects and measures the rain you receive at your home. If you receive enough rain, the sensor will prevent your irrigation system from operating.
Schedule Repairs for Leaking Faucets
A leaking faucet is a problem that’s easy to ignore. Unfortunately, leaking faucets can waste hundreds of gallons of water over the course of a year. If you want to save some water while you’re away from home and after you return, schedule an appointment with Plumbtree Plumbing & Rooter to get those faucets repaired by a professional plumber. The plumber will be able to inspect any leaky faucets and figure out whether it’s a loose screw, worn-out gasket, or some other problem that’s causing your faucets to leak. While they’re there, they can also perform a complete plumbing inspection to make sure the rest of your plumbing system is in good condition.
Turn Off Water to Non-Essential Fixtures
A quick and easy way to save water while you’re away is to turn off the water to all of the non-essential plumbing fixtures in your home. Toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, icemakers, and other non-essential water-using devices in your home all should have a localized shut-off valve to make it easy to stop the flow of water. For devices like icemakers that operate non-stop, turning off the water will actively save water while you’re on vacation. Turning off the water to other devices and appliances helps to reduce the risk of leaks to help save water and protect your home.
Cover Your Pool
If you have a pool like so many San Jose residents, you’ll want to make sure to put a quality cover over the pool before you leave town. Covering your pool will reduce the amount of water that evaporates and help protect the water quality. While a solar cover can do an adequate job of slowing down evaporation, it’s better to use a thick cover made from canvas or another weatherproof material. Make sure to securely tie down the cover so that it doesn’t blow off while you’re away.
Have Your Pool Inspected
A leak in your pool is a serious concern that can waste a lot of water. This is especially true if your pool is equipped with an automatic filling device. As your pool leaks water, the filling device will replace the lost water, leaving you unaware that your pool has a leak. Have the pool inspected and repaired before you leave home to help keep your water bill as low as possible.
Install a Leak Detector
Even if your home’s plumbing system is in good shape and you receive regular inspections from Plumbtree Plumbing & Rooter, unexpected leaks can always occur. To prevent a leak from wasting water and causing damage to your home, it’s a good idea to install leak detectors in strategic locations throughout your residence. Be sure to put one under each sink and another near your water heater. You can link these leak detectors to your phone so that you’ll receive instant alerts if a leak occurs to help prevent further issues.
Turn Off Water to Outdoor Spigots
For an extra measure of water-saving preparation, it’s wise to verify that the outdoor spigots around your home are turned off. Leaving a spigot turned on with a pressurized hose attached could cause the hose to develop leaks and waste a lot of water. If you don’t have any essential plumbing fixtures in your home, you may want to consider using the main water shut-off valve for your home to interrupt the flow of water to the spigots. This step will help prevent your spigots from developing leaks unexpectedly, especially if you’re gone during periods of changing weather. Taking this approach also prevents potential thieves from using unprotected spigots as their free water supply.
Call a Friend or Family Member
It’s always helpful to have someone keep an eye on your home while you’re on vacation. In the case of saving water, having someone come to your home while you’re away is your best insurance policy against wasting water and can potentially help lower your water bill. The individual who comes to your home can keep an eye out for leaks that may develop after you leave and stop them before they waste too much water. They can also verify that you’ve followed the advice provided in the above sections in case you were in a hurry when you left.
Your Residential Plumbing Experts
At Plumbtree Plumbing & Rooter, we take pride in finding creative ways to help our customers make the most of the plumbing systems in their homes. That’s why we offer plumbing inspections, plumbing fixture installation, drain cleaning, drain repair, water heater installation, gas line installation, and much more. Since our founding, our main goal has been to satisfy every customer completely. This results in countless five-star customer reviews and ongoing accreditation with the Better Business Bureau. To learn more about getting the plumbing system in your home ready for your next big trip, contact us at Plumbtree Plumbing & Rooter today.
