Check for damage, then turn the water on and read the meter
If you shut the main off when you left, take five minutes before you open it. Look under sinks, around the water heater and behind the washer and toilets for stains, swollen cabinet floors or mildew. Then open the valve slowly and walk the house, listening for hissing or running water. If you turned the water heater off, leave it off until you have worked through the next section.
Next, run a meter test. Turn off all water inside and out, including the irrigation controller, washer and dishwasher. Read the meter, wait 15 minutes and read it again, as Palm Beach County Water Utilities suggests. To catch a slower leak, EPA WaterSense recommends a two-hour window with no water use. If the reading changes, you probably have a leak, but rule out water filters, softeners and humidifiers first. The test tells you a leak exists, not where it is, and leaks on your side of the meter are your responsibility.
On a private well, as many homes in Jupiter Farms, The Acreage and Loxahatchee are, there is no utility meter to read. Turn everything off and watch the pressure gauge at the well tank: if the pressure drops or the pump kicks on while nothing is running, water is leaving the system somewhere, and a plumber can pressure-test the supply lines to find it.
Town of Jupiter Utilities is replacing its water meters with AMI smart meters, a rollout that started in spring 2026 and is expected to finish around April 2028. Once yours is installed, the town says you get daily reads plus leak and high-bill alerts through its Utility Billing Portal and mobile app. Turn the alerts on before you leave in spring so you hear about a leak while you are away, not when you walk in.
Clear hydrogen from the hot water lines before restarting the heater
Water heater makers, Rheem among them, warn that hydrogen gas can build up in a hot water system left unused for two weeks or more, and hydrogen is extremely flammable. Check your own heater's manual as well. Before you use the dishwasher, washer or any other appliance connected to the hot water, open the kitchen hot faucet for several minutes, with no smoking or open flame nearby. If you hear air escaping or sputtering, hydrogen may be present. Keep the faucet running until the sound stops and the water flows steadily, and keep flames and sparks away.
If the heater was drained, refill it completely before you restore power or gas: open a hot tap and wait until it runs in a steady stream with no air. An electric element switched on in a partly empty tank can burn out. Rheem recommends having a qualified service person check the controls after a long shutdown, and LCI services water heaters if you want that done.
Once it is running, Rheem lists these yearly checks. Draining and descaling are plumber jobs unless you have done them before:
- Flush sediment from the tank. Turn off the power or gas and let the water cool first, because it can scald. Tankless units need the heat exchanger descaled, which Rheem puts at 45 minutes to an hour, and the inlet water filter cleaned.
- Check the heater, connections and joints for corrosion or leaks.
- Check the thermal expansion tank and backflow device for rust or drips. Close and reopen the heater's cold-water shutoff valve once so it doesn't seize; if it is stiff or weeps at the stem, have it replaced.
- On gas units, check the vents for debris or bird nests.
- At least once a year, lift and release the temperature-pressure relief valve lever so several gallons flush through the discharge line to an open drain. The water can be hot enough to scald, so stand clear of the discharge pipe. If the valve keeps dripping after you release the lever, have it replaced.
Flush every fixture, cold before hot
EPA guidance for buildings with low or no water use says stagnant water can become unsafe: Legionella can grow as hot water cools and chlorine residual drops, and metals, including lead, can leach into it.
EPA's method is to flush from where water enters the house to the farthest tap, cold before hot, at every outlet. Run hot water until it reaches its maximum temperature, ideally 120°F or higher at the tap. Running every faucet, tub and shower also refills drain traps that dried out over the summer, which keeps sewer gas out. At the refrigerator, run the water dispenser, throw out the first few batches of ice and change the filter if it is due.
EPA also says to maintain whole-house and under-sink filters and water softeners, so change filter cartridges and check the softener before you drink the tap water. If you have septic, check where the softener drains. Florida DEP says backwash should not go into the septic system and should be routed at least 15 feet from the tank and drainfield.
Test toilets and look for hidden leaks
Palm Beach County Water Utilities says most in-home leaks come from a faulty toilet flapper. EPA's dye test takes ten minutes: put a few drops of food coloring in the tank, don't flush, and check the bowl. Any color means the toilet is leaking. EPA says to check flappers periodically and replace them at least every five years.
EPA WaterSense estimates the average household's leaks can waste more than 9,300 gallons a year, and 9 percent of homes have leaks that waste 50 gallons or more a day. Nationally, water damage is the second most common homeowners claim after wind and hail, and the Insurance Information Institute puts the average water damage and freezing claim at $15,400 (2019 to 2023).
If every toilet passes and the meter still moves with everything off, or the well pressure keeps dropping, the leak may be in a buried supply line or under the slab. At that point, call LCI at (561) 970-9282 for leak detection.
Clear the AC condensate line
UF/IFAS Extension's seasonal-home guide says to clean the condensate line that carries water away from the air handler, because summer heat and humidity grow mildew and mold inside it. Most homeowners can clear it from the outdoor end with a wet/dry vacuum. Do it before you leave in spring, and check that it drains when you arrive.
Where an overflow could damage the building, the Florida Building Code, Mechanical (2023 edition) requires a backup: an auxiliary drain pan, a separate overflow drain line, or a water-level detection device, often called a float switch, that shuts the equipment off if the primary drain clogs. The code also requires condensate lines to be set up so blockages can be cleared without cutting the line. If you come home to a warm house with the AC off, ask your AC contractor to check for a clogged line that tripped the float switch.
Septic after a summer away: skip additives, and don't pump a flooded tank
Jupiter Farms, The Acreage, Loxahatchee and other inland communities largely run on septic. A tank that sat unused all summer does not need a starter. EPA does not recommend septic additives for household systems because the wastewater already carries plenty of bacteria, and it says additives can be ineffective or even harm the system.
EPA recommends inspecting a typical household system at least every three years, and alternative systems with pumps, float switches or mechanical parts about once a year. Florida DEP's septic owner's guide recommends having the tank inspected and pumped every three to five years by a state-licensed septage disposal service. If you can't remember the last visit, book an inspection before the house fills up. If you have an aerobic treatment unit or another performance-based system, confirm its maintenance contract and operating permit are current and that its breaker is on. Those requirements come from DEP's Chapter 62-6 rules, and your county health department, which still handles septic permits and inspections for DEP, can tell you what applies to your system.
If storms left the yard or drainfield flooded or saturated, wait to pump until the water recedes and the soil drains, because an emptied tank can float or shift and damage its inlet and outlet pipes. Sewage backing up into the house is the exception: call right away. LCI dispatches its own vacuum pump trucks 24/7 at (561) 970-9282.
EPA says a single leaky or running toilet can add as much as 200 gallons a day to a septic system, so fix toilets first. Once the house is back to full use, with laundry, showers and guests, call LCI for a septic inspection if you notice any of these:
- Sewage backing up into the house
- Slow drains or gurgling plumbing
- Standing water or damp spots near the tank or drainfield
- Sewage odors
- Bright green, spongy grass over the tank or drainfield
Closing the house in spring, before storm season
NOAA's National Hurricane Center lists hurricane season as June 1 to November 30, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October. A house closed in spring sits empty through the peak, and an October arrival still lands inside the season. Before you lock up:
- Turn off the water heater first, as UF/IFAS Extension advises for long absences. For an electric unit, switch off its breaker; for a gas unit, set the control to OFF or VACATION as your model's manual describes. Then close its cold-water supply valve. Rheem's manual for its electric heaters says to shut off both power and water for an extended shutdown.
- Turn off the refrigerator ice maker and put the water softener in bypass. Town of Jupiter Utilities suggests checking with a plumber first to make sure shutting off the water won't damage your water heater, softener, ice machine or ice maker.
- Turn off the washer's supply valves to take pressure off the hoses.
- Close the main shutoff valve at the house so a failed supply line or washer hose can't flood it while you are away. UF/IFAS Extension recommends shutting off the water unless the line also feeds your irrigation, and Town of Jupiter Utilities points seasonal residents to the valve at the house rather than the meter. On a private well, close the main valve and switch off the well pump breaker. If your irrigation runs off the same line, ask a plumber about a separate irrigation valve or an automatic shutoff valve.
- If you keep the water on, for irrigation or a house-sitter, install leak sensors or an automatic shutoff valve on the main line, and send alerts to your phone and to someone local who has a key. Some smart valves run a daily pressure test: Moen says its Flo shutoff's MicroLeak Test can detect a drip as slow as one drop per minute.
- Town of Jupiter Utilities customers with a new smart meter: turn on leak alerts in the billing portal or app.
- Close drain stoppers, cover toilet bowls and tank tops with plastic wrap, and leave the disposal stopper in place so traps don't dry out and let in sewer gas and pests.
- Set the AC no higher than 85°F so it cycles. Above that, indoor humidity will exceed 55 to 60 percent and can lead to mold. Book an AC check about three weeks before you leave.
- Move lanai and patio furniture inside before you leave, and arrange for someone local to close the shutters if a hurricane threatens.
- Unplug appliances and electronics you won't be running to protect them from power surges, but leave the AC and any septic aerator, sewage or lift pump, or septic alarm panel powered. UF/IFAS suggests emptying and unplugging the refrigerator and propping its doors open. If you leave it running instead, put a bag of ice cubes in the freezer: a solid block when you return means the power was out long enough for the ice to melt and refreeze.
