Do you know where your water shut off valve is?

Over the holidays I had multiple great conversations with friends and family and several of the conversations were with new and inexperienced home owners.

With winter weather here for the next few months and the possibility level at "REAL" that you could encounter a frozen water line, my informal poll indicated that 80% of home owners knew where their main water shut off valve was, but less than 20% had tested to see if it worked in the last five years.

With us having a new home, we scored well on both questions but I was surprised at how few had checked to see if the valve actually worked. I know in my last home, due to its age,  a stuck valve was a real possibility and not being able to turn the water off should there be a leak whether it be a frozen pipe or otherwise could have amounted to major damage.

Along the same line, and dealing with water damage, ask yourself the question, how old is your hot water heater and when was it last flushed? If it is relatively new and hasn't been  more than a couple years since it was last flushed, it would be a good idea to spend a little time and money to flush it regularly.  If it is an older tank and one that has not been cleaned in the last five  years, you might as well leave well enough alone, as there is a good possibility some sediment is actually holding it together.