Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Before going on vacation, shut the main water supply off and shut off valves to the toilets.

I found water on my master-bathroom floor and about 1 foot into the bedroom carpet when I returned from vacation. The toilet bowl was leaking where the water supply comes into the bottom of the toilet tank.

Luckily, when I left on vacation, I’d shut off the main water supply to the house. The only reason I did have water leakage was because my neighbor periodically turned the water on to water my plants and shrubs. So, the damage was negligible – lucky us!

The moral of this story is to not only shut off the main waterline to the house, but also to shut off any water valves that you can – especially the ones to the toilets. – Sumner, via e-mail