My wife and I are selling our house in a nothern city (cold climate in winter). We now live in another city. Thus, there is no need for hot water, or for that matter, any water at all in the house. Because our city bills us a minimum usage charge for water / sewage, we are planning to have the city shut off the water to the house. We will leave the heat on in the house, but have turned the temp down to about
50F degrees.In addition to the city shutting off the water outside the house, I am planning to shut off the main water valve inside our house. I also think I should probably shut off the hot water heater (gas) as well. Once that is done, I am planning to open all the faucets and drain the hot and cold water from the system, and place anti freeze in the drain catches afterwards.
Here are my main concerns:
- Is it "bad" for the plumbing to leave the system open and empty for
- Should I turn off the water heater (gas) altogether, or leave it on pilot? I was planning to turn it off altogether. Basically, I'm wondering if I leave the pilot on, will that generate enough heat to damage the bottom of the mostly empty hot water heater?
- Should I leave the faucets open or closed once I've drained the system?
- I wasn't planning to do anything with the washing machine, but is there something I should do? It's still connected as normal.
- Should I flush and drain the toilet tank, or will leaving it dry cause problems when I turn on the water again later?
Is there anything else I should be considering?
Thanks for the comments...