How to Prep Your Plumbing Before Going on Holiday

The last thing you want when returning from holiday is to have to deal with a plumbing emergency. To protect your home and your plumbing system from accidental damage, we recommend taking some simple steps to prepare the system before you leave.

The preparations you need to make will vary depending on what time of year you are going away. Winter holidays will typically require a little more preparation, due to the heightened risk of pipes freezing while you are away. However, summer can also present unique problems that you’ll need to prepare for. Read on to learn more about how to prepare your plumbing system before you leave for your holidays.

Draining the pipes before you leave

If you’re going to be away for a while, you might want to consider saving yourself any risk of plumbing leaks by draining the system. To do this, you’ll need to switch off the water to your home by locating the stop cock. Once this is switched off, you can then drain the pipes by switching on the taps and letting the water drain out.

If you have a storage water heater, you might also want to switch off the water supply and empty this. You can then look around your home for any signs of leaks.

After you have switched off the water, don’t flush your toilet, as this could leave the system empty, which could allow sewage smells to back up into your home.

Turning off the water to your home will also prevent anyone from using external taps while you are away. This could be incredibly costly if you are on a water meter.

Switching off the boiler

Some people like to save money and remove the risk of malfunctions by switching off their boiler before they go away. This will eliminate the chance that your heating could switch on while you are away. However, if you are leaving in the winter, you don’t want to do this.

Instead, you should set your radiators to anti-frost mode and then make sure the thermostat isn’t set too low. This will allow the heating system to trigger if the pipes are at risk of freezing and bursting. Plumbing pipes outside of your central heating will be fine because they are drained. If your system hasn’t been flushed in a while, it might not respond efficiently—read more about powerflushing and its benefits before your next holiday.

Sanitising your drains

This is an ideal opportunity to sanitise your drains by pouring a capful of cleaning solution down the drain. Products like Zoflora are designed to sanitise the pipes while leaving a pleasant smell.

Avoid leaving any caustic cleaning products down your drains, as these need to be flushed away. Materials like caustic soda crystals need to be washed away, or they will bond with the pipes and set hard, causing further blockages.

Check your external gutters

Gutters are a common cause of leaks in the home. Make sure you check your gutters before you leave, and arrange to have these cleared if they are badly blocked with leaves or moss. This can help to prevent bad weather causing leaks that can work their way into your home. If you’re away for a while, this could do a lot of damage in your absence.

Ask a neighbour to check on things

The best way to protect your home from damage while you are away is to ask a friend or neighbour to check on things. Leaving a key with someone you trust is a great idea, as it means you’ll have the peace of mind that someone can access your property if something goes wrong while you are away. This is particularly helpful if you’re going away in winter and bad weather is expected. Catching plumbing damage early could help to limit the damage.