Should You Turn Off Your Water on Vacation? A Newport Beach Guide for Second Homes and Long Trips
Leaving a Newport Beach home empty for a week or a season? When to close the main, what to do with the water heater and irrigation, and how older copper and supply…
A lot of Newport Beach homes sit empty for stretches of the year. Some are second homes on Balboa Island or the Peninsula, some belong to owners who spend summers elsewhere, and plenty in Eastbluff, Harbor View and Newport Heights are simply locked up for a two-week trip. The question we hear most before people leave is simple: should I turn off the water?
For most trips longer than a weekend, the answer is yes. A failed toilet supply line or washing machine hose can release a surprising amount of water every hour, and nobody is home to hear it. Closing the main valve limits a failure to whatever is already in the pipes.
What to shut off, and what to leave on
- Close the main shutoff. On many Newport homes it sits near the front hose bib, in a garage wall, or in a box near the sidewalk. Test it before the day you leave. A valve that has not moved in twenty years can be stuck or start weeping when you turn it.
- Decide on the water heater. A tank heater with the water off is safe, but setting a gas unit to vacation mode or an electric unit off saves energy and reduces stress on the tank. Tankless units can usually be left alone or switched off at the panel.
- Plan for irrigation. If the sprinklers or drip system tee off the house line after the main, closing the main stops them too. Landscaping on the bluffs and in Corona del Mar may need a separate irrigation feed, or a neighbor who checks in.
- Open a faucet briefly after closing the main. If water keeps flowing for more than a few seconds, the valve is not sealing.
Why older plumbing raises the stakes
Many homes near the harbor still run on copper installed decades ago, and coastal air plus years of chloraminated water slowly thin the pipe walls. Pinhole leaks often start as a fine mist inside a wall. When someone is home, they notice a stain or hear the water meter ticking. In an empty house, that same pinhole can run for days. Plastic-nut toilet connectors and rubber washer hoses are the other common culprits.
Sensors and automatic shutoffs
A battery leak sensor under each sink and beside the water heater will send a phone alert. An automatic shutoff valve on the main goes one step further and closes the water when it sees flow that does not match normal use. For owners who are away often, that combination is the closest thing to peace of mind short of a repipe.
When it is time to repipe instead
If you are already closing the main every time you travel because you do not trust the pipes, the house may be telling you something. Repeated pinholes, green crust on fittings, and a main valve that will not seal are all signs the system is near the end. A whole-house PEX repipe replaces the supply lines, the stops at every fixture, and usually the main shutoff, so the next trip starts with plumbing you can trust. Newport Beach requires a plumbing permit and final inspection for a repipe, which we handle.
Related reading
Learn how hidden supply leaks are tracked down in our leak detection guide, and see how to prepare your home for a repipe if you plan to schedule work while you are away. Neighbors can visit Costa Mesa, Irvine and Laguna Beach, or see every city we serve at repipeinc.com.
Leaving soon and worried about the pipes?
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Repipe OC, 23821 Hillhurst Drive, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677, (949) 524-2362, CSLB #1087885 C-36.
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Written by Repipe OC · CSLB #1087885 C-36 · 23821 Hillhurst Drive, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 · (949) 524-2362