06/08/2026
You remembered to stop the mail.
Set the thermostat.
Ask the neighbor to grab the packages.
But nobody thinks about the water.
When a home sits empty for a week or two in the middle of summer, water sits stagnant in the pipes. Your softener isn't running. Your filters aren't cycling. The whole system is just... waiting.
And when you walk back in, drop the bags, and head straight to the kitchen for a glass of water — that's the first water moving through everything in days.
A couple of things worth knowing:
Before you leave — if you have a water softener, check the salt level. Running low while you're gone means it can't do its job when you get back.
When you return — run the faucets for a minute or two before drinking. Let everything flush through. It takes less than five minutes and it matters.
Small things. Easy to do. Easy to forget.