Booking hotel rooms, confirming flights and packing your suitcase aren’t the only things you have to take care of before leaving for summer vacation – you have to prepare your home too! Even if you’ll be having a friend or family member stop by regularly to check in, it’s important to make sure that your home is ready for your absence. To help you with this process, we’ve put together the following checklist that you can use as you move from room to room:
- Rather than turn your air conditioner off, turn the thermostat up instead – HGTV recommends somewhere around 82 degrees Fahrenheit. By allowing cool air to continue to circulate, you can prevent various items in your home from becoming over heated.
- Close all windows and lock them too – including those on the second and third floors. If any of your home’s windows have a crack or other easy access point visible, be sure to cover it up so that entry is prohibited.
- Unplug small appliances like those found in your kitchen. Especially for those that aren’t plugged into a power strip, you’ll want to stop electricity from flowing completely so that you minimize the chances of an electrical emergency.
- Adjust the lighting in various rooms if need be. When it comes to those in the front of your home, you should have some sort of timer system in place so that your home is lit when the sun goes down. Same goes for your outside lights – including those in the front, side and back.
- Perhaps most importantly, take a good look at your plumbing before you go. For example, flush the toilet and leave the lid open so that the water doesn’t become stagnant while you’re gone. Additionally, if you constantly run into trouble with the hose that connects to water dependent appliances like your dishwasher, detach it all together so that you don’t come home to a flood. Finally, if you have a leak that you’ve been putting off, give yourself ample time to get it fixed for similar reasons – you’d be surprised how quick a small leak could turn into a large problem and leave you with a mess to clean up when you get a home.
For more tips on how to prepare your home before leaving for vacation, please click here.
Here at Barker & Sons Plumbing and Heating, we understand that a plumbing emergency can happen at any time – including while you’re away from home! That’s why we recommend leaving our phone number with a neighbor, friend or family member. In the event of an emergency, our team will be able to fix the problem in no time! For more information about our plumbing services, please give us a call at 714.630.8766. Safe travels everyone!
