Should you turn the water off before leaving Florida for the summer?
For a house, yes in most cases — shutting the main supply removes the single largest risk of catastrophic damage, provided irrigation, ice makers and any fire-suppression requirements are handled correctly. In a condominium, building rules and shared risers often make it impractical, so regular inspection of shut-offs, hoses and the water heater takes its place.
Water does more damage to empty Florida homes than storms do. Closing the main supply means a failed supply line, a split washing-machine hose or a leaking water heater releases what is in the pipe and then stops, instead of running for months.
Before you close it, resolve the dependencies: irrigation usually runs off a separate line or needs the supply open, ice makers must be switched off so they do not burn out, a tank water heater should be powered down if drained, and a fire-suppression system must never be isolated. Get that wrong and you create a different problem.
Condominiums are a different case. Many buildings prohibit owners from closing risers, some in-unit valves have not been turned in twenty years and fail when they are, and the shared stack means your neighbour's line can still flood you. There, the substitute is inspection: valves, hoses, the water heater, and every visible connection checked on a schedule.
