Summer Vacation, Here We Come!

Summer is here and this means leaving your house for an extended period of time. Here are some tips and tricks to getting your house ready for when you are gone this summer!​

1. Securing your home:
   
   1. Make sure you lock all the doors and windows. I will put cut broom sticks in windows to help with securing them. 
      
   2. Set your security system if you have one. If you are able to program your lights, that would also help where it will simulate someone being home.
      

1. Managing your utilities:
   
   1. Adjust your thermostat or set to vacation mode. I tend to set mine at 79 degrees when I am on vacation. I have tried turning it off completely but then I came home to an oven and I noticed things got damaged due to excessive heat.
      
   2. Turn off the main shut-off valve to the home. These tend to be located outside in the front close to your home. You will see a pipe that leads from the ground into your home with a shut-off valve attached. If someone is not house sitting, I strongly encourage people to do this. This will prevent major leaks in your home if a pipe breaks while you are gone. I had friends that went on vacation and their bathroom water pipes burst, flooding their home. They got notice from their neighbors who happened to walk by and notice water coming out of their front door. I had to go over and turn the water off and then mop up the water for them. 
      
   3. Make sure to set your water heater on “Vacation Mode”. This will help save money and energy while you are gone. You can also install water detectors that will go off and send notifications to you when there is a leak.
      
   4. Unplug electronics and appliances to reduce energy consumption and help prevent electrical issues. Just do not unplug your fridge/freezer unless you are removing everything from inside it.
      

1. Household Tasks:
   
   1. Clean out the fridge with all perishable items. It is the worst when you come home from a long trip and you open up the fridge just to get a whiff of rotting food. Make sure you take out all the trash once done so nothing is rotting inside your home. You do not want to come home to maggots and flies all over your home.
      
   2. Freeze a cup of water. Once frozen, place a coin on top and set in the freezer. If the power goes out when you are away you will be able to notice when you return. Depending on how far the coin fell and refroze in the cup will determine how long the power was out for. If the coin is towards the bottom of the cup that means everything in your freezer thawed out for some period of time. At that point, I would throw everything away to prevent food poisoning from spoiled food.
      
   3. Sewer traps - I recommend putting a small amount of vegetable oil down your drains if you are going to be gone for awhile. Drains have a p-trap where they hold water so sewer odor cannot escape. If you are gone for some time, the water in the p-trap will evaporate, causing the sewer smell to be present. By putting a small amount of vegetable oil down the drains, it will help seal the water so it cannot evaporate.