It is a must to prepare your home before leaving for a vacation. It is important to take precautions when winter is about to set in while you are away. Preparing your home for a cold weather in your absence is not difficult. However, if you do not create a checklist, important steps might easily be overlooked. Mark off the item once they are complete.
As you leave for your vacation ensure that it looks occupied because an empty house attracts burglars.
Here is a list of things to do:
- Arrange with a neighbor to pick up your mail and newspaper. If not so, cancel the subscription all together.
- Set one light on a timer.
- Ensure that your lawn area remains trimmed. If you will be gone for too long, arrange with a neighbor to do so.
- Park your car inside the garage then lock it. If the garage has an automatic door, unplug the close/open device.
- Install a sensor that will activate an outdoor floodlight in the event of unauthorized inlet.
- Put any valuables owned in a safe.
- Lock all doors to the house.
The above steps will secure your home from burglars.
To avoid damage caused by electric or plumbing defaults, carry the following:
- Do not leave electronics plugged into sockets
- Set the water heater into a vacation mode
- Drain the water from the sink, dishwasher and washing machines.
- Turn off all water taps, with the only exception of a freezing weather forecast. Failure to do so can lead to pipe breakages. You can also organize with your neighbor to loosen your faucets in case of a freezing weather.
- Keep your thermostat to low levels, one that is just enough to keep the environment warm, unless you are also leaving pets inside. Temperatures of about 50 degrees will prevent pipes from bursting.
Other general preparations include:
Arrange for your garbage disposal. Wash your garbage disposer with half a cup of vinegar diluted with water. It disinfects the dustbin and keeps the smell off. You can place the garbage outside the house and arrange with a neighbor to dispose of it when the garbage collectors make their rounds.
Food stored in the fridge is bound to go bad. Therefore, you should dispose of the perishable foods before leaving for your vacation. This will help keep things fresh. It will also prevent bad odor from filling the house. Such situations are often accompanied with brooding bacteria that cause diseases.
You have to notify services that you use on a daily basis that you will be out of town. These are your Credit Card Company and Security Company.
Ensure that your smoke detectors are functioning properly. This will help salvage properties in case a fire breaks out. It will help regulate the situation before it blows out of proportions.
Arrange with a friend or neighbor to take care of your place when you are away. The responsibilities may vary. When it snows, it will require that the friend clears up the drive way by shoveling the snow that settles in the area.
You should leave an emergency line with a friend or neighbor, just in case they need to contact you for anything.
You can also leave an extra key to the front door for a friend or neighbor, just in case they need to access the house while you are away. This could be to feed your pet or adjust the valves of your home due to weather changes.
Ensure that you do a final round up before leaving; just to ensure that you have done all that is required for the preparations.
You can also leave an extra key to the front door for a friend or neighbor, just in case they need to access the house while you are away. This could be to feed your pet or adjust the valves of your home due to weather changes.
Write a Comment