The problem: a quiet house and a pressurized pipe
When a home is empty, water pressure still sits on every supply line. If one of them develops a leak under the slab, nothing stops it and nobody hears it. The result may be a high bill, a damp floor or a call from a neighbor, often weeks after the leak began.
The routine below is not complicated and takes less than half an hour. It does not stop a leak from starting, but it makes it much more likely that one is caught in days instead of weeks. It is written for owners of seasonal homes and for managers and neighbors who look after them.
Before you leave
Do these in the last day or two before you go, so what you record is still fresh when you come back.
Do a meter check. With every tap, appliance and ice maker off, watch the meter's leak indicator for a few minutes. Write down whether it moved. If it moves, call before you leave.
Photograph the meter. Take a clear photo of the register reading with the date. It gives you a baseline for comparing on return.
Find and test the main shutoff. Know where it is and that it turns. A shutoff nobody can find or turn is no use when it matters.
Decide whether the water stays on. Closing the main stops pressure on all lines. If you leave it on, you are relying more heavily on the checks below.
Walk the home. Feel the floor in the main rooms, look along baseboards and listen in a quiet house for running water.
Give a neighbor or manager access and permission. A key, the shutoff location and clear permission to close the main if they see water.
Leave contact details. Your number, a backup number and how to reach us, so a neighbor knows what to do if they find something.
Movement with everything off is worth a call.
Meter Still Moving? Call NowWhile you're away
A person who looks in on the house on a regular schedule is the most effective safeguard. They do not need plumbing knowledge. They need to walk through, look for water or dampness and know who to call.
Check your water bill whenever it arrives, and compare it with the same month in other years. A bill that does not match an empty house deserves a closer look. If your utility offers online usage or alerts, those can help as well, though this site does not endorse any particular service.
Walk through each room. Look at floors, baseboards and the area around the water heater and appliances.
Feel for warmth or dampness. A warm tile or a soft baseboard is worth a note and a call.
Listen. In a quiet house, running water or a faint hiss is easier to hear.
Read the meter. Compare with the photo left by the owner. A change in an empty house is a leak somewhere on the property.
Coming back: the first hour
Before you unpack, do the same checks in reverse. They take a few minutes and tell you whether the house has been quiet in your absence.
Look at the meter before turning anything on. If the main was left on, compare the register with your photo. If you closed the main, open it and check the indicator with everything off.
Walk the home. Floors, baseboards and the corners of rooms. Note any warm or damp spots, a smell of dampness or lifted tile.
Listen with the house quiet. Water running in a wall or floor is easiest to hear before the day starts.
Run water, then watch the meter again. Once fixtures are off, the indicator should be still. If it moves, call.
If the meter has moved and nothing is on, or if you find a damp or warm patch, turn off the main if you can do so safely, keep clear of wet areas and call.
Owners and managers are welcome to call.
Speak With Someone LocalWhy it matters more in Florida
The state has a large seasonal population, and many second homes are slab houses or ground-floor condos with copper supply lines. Sandy soil and a high water table mean escaped water drains away rather than showing up at the surface, so a house can look dry while a line leaks beneath it.
Pools and irrigation are common too, and a high bill after an absence may come from either. The meter check and a technician's isolation test sort one from the other. Read more on seasonal home slab leaks.
If the checks turn something up
Call us with the meter result and what you noticed. A technician isolates hot and cold lines, pressure tests, listens across the floor and uses thermal imaging where it helps, then explains where the leak is and what the options are.
If you are away when you find out, tell the dispatcher who can give access and when. Many visits can be arranged around a manager's schedule.
If you found one on return, tell us where.
Warm Spot on the Tile? Call NowWhat the technician may suggest
A spot repair, a reroute above the slab, lining or a wider repipe may be raised, depending on where the leak is and how the plumbing looks. Upfront pricing and no hidden fees apply, and you decide what happens. See slab leak repair.
Owners of seasonal homes often ask for something that can be completed while they are in residence. Say so when you call.
Afterwards
After a repair, the lines are tested again. Drying and cleanup are handled by restoration companies. Take a fresh meter photo once things are back to normal, and keep the routine going.
Print or save this checklist and give a copy to whoever looks after the home. The shorter the gap between a leak starting and someone noticing, the smaller the problem.
Tailoring the routine to your home
A small home with a single bathroom needs a shorter routine than a large one with several. A condo may have a shutoff in a closet or a utility room. A home with a pool or irrigation needs those systems included in the plan.
Write the routine on a card and leave it with whoever checks the house. Include the meter reading you took before leaving and the location of the main shutoff.
The goal is for the person checking to know what is normal and what is not, without having to guess.