Thing to Do Before Leaving for Vacation

7/19/2018 (Permalink)

Fun in the Sun

Summer is now in full swing! The flowers have all finally bloomed, kids are constantly screaming, and each day is hotter than the last. But the best part about summer is…yup you know it… VACATIONS!!! A period of time where you can get away from work; if only we could take a vacation every week! If you’re like us, we like travel to far destinations, most likely with a beach. Since all the good vacations spots are a good drive from Ohio that leaves your home sitting unoccupied for a while. When we leave our homes to go on vacation, we hope everything will be fine and nothing happens to it, but that isn’t always the case. Follow these tips to prepare your home so you don’t have a disaster ruin your paradise vacation.

1. Turn Off the Main Water Supply

When you close the valve on the main supply line, it cuts off water to the house but still allows your outside sprinklers to work. If you do happen to have a leak inside, the line will be under some initial pressure, but it won’t continue to spray water. Shutting off the main water supply takes a little time, but it will save you thousands of dollars in potential damage.

2. Check the Sump Pump

Rainwater can be a nightmare.  A lot of rainwater can cause your sump pump to back up and eventually fail altogether. If your sump pump fails when you’re gone and a major storm hits, you will be coming home to flooded basement. It’s important to check your sump pump before leaving. Dump a bucket of water in your sump pump to make sure it is working properly; the sump pump will turn on when the water fills it.

3. Turn Up the Thermostat—Don’t Turn Off the A/C

If you have a programmable thermostat, set and hold the temperature to have the house at 85 degrees while you’re on vacation, and then the day before you get back, have it go back down to 72 degrees. Even if you have a manual thermostat, it’s still worth it to turn the temperature up while you’re away to avoid wasting energy. Make sure you don’t turn off the air conditioner. It keeps the air circulating so it doesn’t have time to condensate. It is important to keep the house from turning into an oven. When you have a tremendous heat buildup, it can have an effect on certain surfaces in your home.

4. Unplug Electronics

If you have any of your televisions, computers, and other electronics plugged directly into the wall rather than into a surge protector, take the plugs out in case a power surge happens while you’re away. You can save money by turning off the surge protector and unplugging electronics. Even if electronics aren’t in use, they are still drawing power to them.

5. Light Rooms with Timers

Put timers on in different parts of your home to make your house appear to be occupied. It will be less appealing for burglars. The timers will turn on and off the lights at different times of the day and night, as if someone in the house were flipping a switch.