leaving house empty for 3 months

Unplug and reset the thermostat: Temporarily adjust the thermostat so the air-conditioner or heater won't waste energy by running in an empty house. Here is a golden tip for extra safety: Do not post that you are leaving on an extended vacation or business trip on Facebook! If you have a spa, turn off the heat. Dry thoroughly. You could even put a “Beware of Dog” sign or sticker on your door. When properties are left vacant or are unoccupied, steps should be taken to prevent or mitigate losses due to heating system, electrical system, water damage, vandalism or other causes. As a final measure against a water leak, you can install a water flow sensor on your main water supply pipe. Empty, wipe down and unplug the refrigerator. If you’re interested in purchasing an alarm system and paying for a security service, I highly recommend reading articles devoted to that topic. Empty your refrigerator 2. -- Disposer/drains: Run the disposer. We turn off the main water line into our house before we leave. If such an endorsement is not available, consider purchasing a separate, “vacant home” insurance policy. If you want your mail forwarded, you request a temporary mail forwarding for $1 USD. These unfortunate events seem to happen without warning and can quickly become a destructive and expensive situation. When it comes to a vacant house in the summertime, what temperature should you leave your house at? If necessary, you might purchase an endorsement to your policy to provide coverage for your home while it's vacant. Long-term: Clean out the refrigerator; either throw items away or give them to a neighbor. -- Mail: Contact the U.S. The house is decently insulated, but probably only averagely-well sealed (R-19 walls, but some small drafts). We have an outside faucet that comes off our water line just after the main enters the house and before it goes on to the remainder of the building. While you're gone, have a neighbor or friend turn on the water and run the faucets at least once a month. Hiding a house key under the mat, in a fake rock, or inside a magnetic house key box stuck to the underside of an outdoor pipe is never a good idea. Don't let it sit empty, however. Again, ask your neighbor to check for these and dispose of them. This keeps the house well above freezing and prevents the pipes from freezing and bursting. Lock the door between your garage and your house. If your home is on oil heat, have the tanks filled. This is exactly what we do, and it works well. The other is to keep the refrigerator running. While the technology exists to watch television from home via the internet, most of us do not watch our home cable television or use our home cable internet while we’re traveling. When it comes to a vacant house in the summertime, what temperature should you leave your house at? Use a towel to chock the door open. The answer may not be as clear-cut as you think. To supplement your fake Fido, you can install faux alarm signs and stickers. After the first six months, you can extend for another six months. Long-term: Again, turn up the thermostat to about 85 degrees. That’s right, you can watch your house yourself when you’re away. Details: An air-conditioner accounts for about half of your annual electrical bill, says Tom Hines, energy-efficiency expert at Arizona Public Services. Details: If you have a pool, continue to run the pump so the pool doesn't develop algae and turn green. Check out these 9 tips to ensure you're home is safe next time you leave town. It's the same basic example. If the furnace should fail on a very cold day, water in a pipe could freeze and burst the pipe. These are readily available on the internet and are designed to have the bad guys looking for easier targets. If the property is your main home and you’ve let us know that it’s empty for 31-180 days in a row a year, you’re covered so long as the water is turned off at the mains stopcock, or the property’s central heating system is left on continually to maintain a minimum temperature of 15 degrees Celsius/60 degrees Fahrenheit between 1 October and 1 April inclusive. Just kidding! s3londonuk. Details: Don't come home from your trip to a refrigerator filled with spoiled food. To prevent sewer fumes from entering your home, you can wrap your toilet bowl in saran wrap. Some people leave for three months, and some leave for seven months. If such an endorsement is not available, consider purchasing a separate, “vacant home” insurance policy. Lock all sliding doors with security locks. Stop the Mail and Newspaper Deliveries. The thieves know about these products and tricks and look for these easy access vulnerabilities. Why would someone want to watch your man cave from Mongolia? The important exception to this would be if you’re using an internet web cam or other security system that requires an internet connection. keeping your blinds as they are is the best balance. In addition, our neighbors have keys to our home and garage. Those with house plants should also make arrangements to have their plants watered and cared for. Many home owners have experienced a plumbing leak at one time or another. Follow the instructions in this article and you’ll be truck camping cool as a cucumber. With this article we asked our readers for their ideas. The answer may not be as clear-cut as you think. Connected to a security system, a water flow sensor will alert you should the water begin to flow through the system. It’s also critical to wash your dishes, empty your coffee pot, and take out the trash before you leave. In general, folks want to close their blinds to prevent the unsavory from peering in and seeing unprotected valuables. That said, you can buy and install a web camera system in your house and property that will let you see your den from Denmark and your lawn from Louisiana. Such items may include an ice maker, an automatic sprinkler system that doesn't have a separate shut-off, and a pool. Sources from the Phoenix area: Tom Hines, APS energy-efficiency expert; Kathleen Mascarenas, SRP energy-efficiency spokeswoman; Nathan Morey, SRP senior analyst, energy efficiency; and Linda Stanfield, owner of Ben Franklin the Punctual Plumber. Doing so will still protect your plants, furniture and other belongings without running up your energy bill. 25. Just make sure to pause those newspaper drops while you’re away, or they may give your absence away. Never fear my fellow truck camping friends. Left unchecked, mail will likely accumulate beyond your mail box capacity and potentially announce your absence. Thankfully, stopping the mail is as easy as going onto USPS.com and requesting your mail is forwarded or held. This is one nightmare you can avoid. – that’s connected to the internet via coax should also be disconnected. Short term: Set the temperature on "vacation" mode. -- Car: If you park your car in the driveway normally and are leaving it while on an extended trip, arrange for a friend or relative to drive it so that it looks like it is being used (and so cobwebs don't develop, a sure signal that no one is home). Never leave wet clothing in your dryer or they will likely mildew, mold, and ruin long before you get home. They can also automatically light the way when you get home. If you already have an alarm system installed, be sure to notify them of your long-term travel plans including a list of your most current contacts, the names and contact information of neighbors and house sitters who may be at the premises. Also, check expiration dates of unopened items. Depending on how it looks, it also can be considered blight. Who knows, but you may also be showing your empty house and all its valuables to the bad guys in the next town. The mail is often a never-ending cascade of advertising, magazines, and other solicitations – with a few important parcels in-between. To prevent this from happening, empty your refrigerator of all perishables, clean the inside, and leave it unplugged and defrosted with the doors open. Make sure that the water supply is turned off completely at the main supply point. Click here to read the suggestions from the readers about closing up your house for an extended trip. If you did you would come back and have to replace large amounts of dry wall. Just be sure to put a black X on the saran wrap to prevent an accident. No more worrying about water in the basement. If the power went out, did your alarm turn back on? Don't leave the gutters clogged. Lock All External Doors, Windows, and the Garage. You’ll be paying for that hidden draw while you’re away. Make the house look lived in: Set automatic timers for interior lights on staggered hours, and turn on motion sensors for exterior lights. Another option is to have a neighbor or another contact who can put the shutters up if a storm is approaching. It’s common sense that you don’t run around telling everyone that you’ll be away and your house will be unoccupied, but that’s exactly what you do by posting your trip plans and adventure to social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. These temperature monitors can be accessed via cell phone while traveling. While they are walking through, they can make sure no door hang tags, leaflets, or packages have been left at your door. They're going to Florida for the rest of the winter and their toilet will not be used for 3 months. Second, clean the refrigerator. There are 635,000 empty homes in the UK and over 278,000 of those have been empty for more than six months, according to latest government statistics (2019). In addition, the property can be targeted by burglars out to steal anything and that includes the radiators and other metal in the home such as pipes, for scrap. Unplug unnecessary appliances in preparation for … If your electrical items are plugged into surge protectors, there’s no sense in leaving them plugged in and risking the damage. In Flordia, specially the humid months, you do not leave the house with no A/C. On Sale Now: 2021 Truck Camper Magazine Calendar. If you live in a warmer climate, you may need to leave your air conditioner and humidistat on to prevent mold, mildew, and other heat and humidity related issues. Some folks also recommend putting a little baking soda in sink drains and toilets to further avoid the stagnant water stink. Even the most experienced truck camper owners worry about their homes while they’re away. As the joke goes, everything in your refrigerator will turn into a science project if left for long enough. “The valves in dishwashers can get stuck in the closed position when they sit around unused for weeks on end,” says Shank. Steven Merrill takes us step-by-step through the process of preparing a house to be unoccupied during extended or long-term trip. It’s also a good idea to have them walk through your house now and then, especially after a bad storm or other extreme weather. One way to do this is to run the water heater until it is empty and let it refill again. Whatever you do, it’s important to leave a set of car keys with your trusted neighbors or home watching friends in case there’s a need to move your car in your absence. You may also consider photographing your passport, medication bottles, and other important documents. People usually leave their primary residence unoccupied for various legitimate reasons, some of which may well not be their choice. When you’re away from the house for an extended period of time – for example, if you leave on a vacation or the property is a summer home or rental property that is vacant – there are additional factors that should be considered when deciding whether to heat or cool the unoccupied house. However, always be sure to follow correct procedure and hire a professional plumber if you have any doubts. You have two choices. Unless you have a house sitter coming to water them, you would come back to a house full of dead plants! Complications arise if you allow someone to stay at your house for a week or two while you are away. That’s a savings of $140 a month for something you’re not using. If you post that you are leaving your home empty for a few months, you may be sending strangers an invitation to burglarize your home. Precautions for leaving a house empty over winter please? It’s also a very good idea to shut off and drain dishwasher valves, washing machine valves, sink valves, and outdoor water faucets. You can use this service for as short as fifteen days or as long as one year. Short-term: Throw out perishables such as milk that will expire while you're gone. Toss or donate unopened boxes of food (or, if you plan to keep them, put them in plastic bags to deter pests.). In concert with other home security recommendations (light timers, helpful neighbors, police notification, etc.) Outdoor floodlights with built in motion sensors are available at Home Depot, Lowes, and Amazon (among others) and do an excellent job at detecting and deterring would-be thieves. Thank you helpful neighbors. 11. In that way, water was available outside, but the house water was off. Feel the valves underneath faucets to make sure they aren't moist. If you did you would come back and have to replace large amounts of dry wall. When they area away, we perform the same type of duties for our neighbors making home watching feel like a mutual benefit rather than an imposed burden. But 7 … If necessary, you might purchase an endorsement to your policy to provide coverage for your home while it's vacant. Even though you will not be home, it’s still important to that your smoke detectors are functioning properly. Before you leave your house for a extended period -- no matter what season it is -- turn off the main water supply. 15. Original Poster. You want to do what is best for the house but hate the idea of paying for unnecessary service. Take any live plants you have with you. A vacation requires preparation, including arranging flights, reserving hotel rooms and finding things to do. Here are 11 precautions you might not have thought of for keeping your empty house safe while you’re away. If that’s not possible, disconnect the battery to prevent drainage (or use a battery trickle charger), and put the automobile on jacks to avoid tire flat spots. Turn off the electricity to your hot water heater. If the above list feels a bit overwhelming, it shouldn’t. Just unplug it. Figuring out how to balance the budget for a home that remains empty can be tricky. Whoo-wee! Don't leave the gutters clogged. Needing extensive medical treatment requiring them to spend weeks or months in hospital. Hiding a house key under the mat, in a fake rock, or inside a magnetic house … Make sure you find your main water shut-off valve, and that it works. It’s a minor detail, but closing a fireplace flue will prevent bats, bird, squirrels, and other critters from entering your home. Clean enamel exteriors with sudsy water, rinse, and dry. Heating system/Electrical The heating system should be cleaned and inspected by a contractor to help ensure it is working properly, especially through the winter months, to […] If your system has a filter, change the filter. My strongest recommendation is to use this article to create a check list for your situation. Did you remember to lock the sliding doors? Long-term: Do the same. If left unchecked, these green Benedict Arnolds will grow to reveal our absence, and invite the less scrupulous to have a look. Discussion. No matter how long you'll be gone, whether a few days or several months, here are steps you can take to make your house safer and lower your utility bills. For mail being forwarded further distances or for even more extended periods of time, the cost is higher. Ask a friend or neighbor you trust to water your plants. To keep these green back-stabbers in check this past summer, I hired a local college student to mow my lawn and maintain our gardens. Still trying to sell your home? Then open the faucets to drain every plumbing you can. It’s always better to come home to a clean and uncluttered house. Long-term: Arrange for a lawn service to take care of your landscaping while you are away. If there is frost in your freezer, you'll want to wait until that has melted and been cleaned up before you leave. Sometimes we forget to look up before we leave the house! The best part of the above recommendations is the peace of mind they’ll give you if you’re away from home. Sump pump alarms are also available in case of a flood. Possible scenarios include: Spending significant periods of a given year at a holiday residence, for example an apartment in Spain. Step one, stop the green traitors. It’s a nearly universal phenomenon — that moment of panic in the middle of the night before leaving home for an extended period of time wondering what loose ends you’ve forgotten to tie. Naturally you might think taking pictures is what you do once you’re on the road and exploring new places. -- Smoke detectors: Make sure they are in working condition. I also turn off the water heater. As an additional layer of security, we informed the local police that we would be away and asked them to keep an eye on our house. Whether these properties are empty because their owners are waiting to sell them, because they're second homes or because the house is in probate, the issue of insuring them can be confusing. Just ask the people that left their home unattended for a few months and came back to a home with a flooded basement, ruined floorboards, a horrible stench and all sorts of fungus and mold growing all over the place. 11. Take care of your yard. Walk around your house and unplug everything that’s not a lamp on a timer or otherwise related to an alarm system. Don’t Hide House Keys. For many, there’s nothing better than reading a physical newspaper, magazine, or book. An empty fridge would have more start and stops then one with something in it. Turn off the water to the house at the main valve. Editor’s Note: Thank you, Steve, for this very informative article. -- Security company: If you have one, notify the company that you will be gone. Other considerations for any length of vacation. Needing extensive medical treatment requiring them to spend weeks or months in hospital. People usually leave their primary residence unoccupied for various legitimate reasons, some of which may well not be their choice. Linda Stanfield, owner of Benjamin Franklin the Punctual Plumber, recommends not turning it off while you're gone, but instead flushing it out when you return. Leaving your home for 2 or 3 months is one thing.. Most of these items (like turning off your house water) take seconds and will become instinctual every time you leave for a long trip. If you will be away from your home during the winter, you may want to purchase and install temperature monitors that will tell you if your house approaches freezing. You can also unplug your garage door opener when you’re away. Be aware that there are concerns that web cameras of any kind could get hacked allowing not just you to see your house and home, but anyone on the planet. 6. Basic preventative measures (which take only minutes to complete) keep your home safe while on vacation. • Unplug and clean the refrigerator interior. Inform local police the house will be empty. That same lighting strike will also travel through coax cable, so anything – modems, computers, televisions, etc. Use this information as a baseline for your personal checklist. Details: Avoid having to call an exterminator after you return by leaving your kitchen and pantry clean. While this is certainly true, you also should take pictures of your home and possessions prior to leaving. Even if you have your newspapers stopped, newspapers, circulars, and phone books may be dropped at your house. Fill it with bottles of water so it will run more efficiently. clean the house thoroughly prior to leaving. The house took about 2 hours to get back up to 65 when we came back, but it was comfortable enough to sit and eat dinner within 30 minutes. Drain spouts should be secured to take heavy rain away from your house. Stock Up Your Refrigerator. No matter how long you'll be gone, whether a few days or several months, here are steps you can take to make your house safer and lower your utility bills. Is the furnace still up and running? There is no sense in maintaining a hot tank of water for months when you’re away. Drain any remaining water from the faucets, long shower head extensions and such. To defeat these scanners, disconnect the receiver and use a manual garage door lock. Long-term: Set on vacation mode. This is often called “vacation mode” and can be set with a dial under a metal panel on the front of your hot water heater. For two or more months, you may need a house sitter. Another exception is if your home has a sprinkler system or you want to have outside water available to water the garden or lawn. If you don’t want to turn your hot water heater off, set it to the lowest possible heat level.

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