Vacation means rest, relaxation, and getting away from the stresses of home. But before you escape, there are a couple things you can do around the house to make sure all is well when you return. These tips for preparing your house for vacation can help make your home safer while you’re gone and make your return easier too. Here’s how to prepare your house for vacation.
Preparing Your House for Vacation: Why Does It Matter?
There are a couple good reasons vacation preparations are a good move:
- Safety – Those few little chores you do before you go will help ensure your home is safe and secure throughout your vacation. You can reduce the risk of a break-in and protect against damage caused by plumbing or electrical problems.
- They make returning home a little more pleasant – By taking care of these tasks at home before you leave for vacation, it’ll be easier to make the transition from relaxation mode to real life.
Your Vacation Preparation Checklist
Outdoor Tasks
If anyone is interested in breaking into your home while you’re away, they will start by monitoring the property for signs that it’s vacant. Because of that, the most effective way to reduce the likelihood of a break-in is to make it look like people are home. And the longer you’re away, the more important this issue becomes. Before you leave, taking care of these tasks will improve your home security.
1. Clean Up Your Yard
The most telltale signs of an empty home are yard work that’s undone. Before you go on vacation, head outside and check for any work that needs attention.
- Mow the lawn.
- Weed flower beds.
It’s also a good idea to trim any shrubs that are located near windows and doors. Overgrown shrubs can provide cover for someone trying to look inside or break in.
2. Arrange for Someone to Take Care of Trash, Mail, and Newspapers
Full trash cans and a full mailbox are two easy-to-spot indicators that a home has been sitting empty for a few days or longer. Fortunately, these two problems are also easy to prevent. Ask a neighbor or friend to put your trash cans out if you’ll be away on trash day. Give that neighbor a number to contact you in case of emergency.
And contact the post office to have your mail held until the day after you plan to return home. It’s easy to have the USPS do it here. If you have newspaper or other delivery services, have those stopped temporarily too.
3. Ask Someone to Check In, or Employ a House Sitter
You have a couple options when it comes to getting another set of eyes on your house while you’re away:
- Ask a trusted friend or neighbor to stop by and check on your house every few days. Ask them to check that doors and windows are secure and that there are no signs of tampering. If nothing else, this can help you maintain peace of mind while you’re on vacation.
- Hire a house sitter. This is a good idea if you’ll be on an extended vacation, like a week or longer. Employing a house sitter conveniently eliminates many of the problems of an empty house because they’ll be around to collect mail, take out the trash, and make the house look lived-in.
- Sign up for a police Vacation Watch. Several DFW townships’ police departments provide Vacation Watch, where officers drive by your residence to keep an eye on things. For example, Lewisville, Carrollton, and Flower Mound. You can find out if your town offers this by Googling “[TOWN NAME] vacation watch.”
Indoor Tasks
Inside, preparing your home for vacation is about damage prevention as well as safety. This means safeguarding valuables and shutting off any appliances or services that aren’t essential.
4. Prep Your Plumbing for Vacation
A plumbing leak can quickly turn into a major problem, even when you’re at home. What happens when you’re away? In those circumstances it can mean returning to a flooded home and a massive amount of property damage.
To prep your plumbing, follow these steps:
- Find your main water shut-off valve (usually in the front yard) and turn it off.
- Turn your water heater water and gas off completely, or set the gas to “vacation mode.” This will prevent you from wasting energy (and money) maintaining a tank of hot water while you’re not home.
- Turn off the water supply to your toilets, then flush them – This prevents a supply line or toilet stop leak while you’re away, which could be catastrophic. It also keeps you from wasting money on a toilet that’s constantly running.
- Look out for water leaks. If you hear water dripping where it shouldn’t be or see signs of a plumbing leak, contact CW Service Pros to get it found and fixed.
Pro Note: Turning the water may not be feasible if you have a sprinkler system you want to keep running or you don’t want to come home to cold water. You’ll have to weigh up the pros and cons of each option to decide whether to keep the water on or turn it off. Need advice? The plumbing experts at CW Service Pros can help. Give us a call!
5. Prep Your HVAC System
When you head out on vacation, you can either turn your heating and cooling system off completely, or you can keep it running but adjust it so it doesn’t run as much. Which option to choose depends on the season and whether you’ll be leaving any pets or plants at home.
If you’re vacationing during winter, it’s best to leave the heat on. Set the thermostat to a temperature that’s high enough to ensure the pipes won’t freeze, even if it gets cold. Open cabinet doors if you are going away during a time when temperatures may drop below freezing.
If you’re heading out during summer, you can set your thermostat to around 90 degrees, or turn it off completely if you prefer.
However, if you’re leaving pets at home, don’t turn your heat or air conditioning off completely. You need to make sure the home is comfortable for them while you’re away.
If you decide to leave the HVAC system on, check whether it’s time for a filter change soon—and change the filter before you go, if necessary. Also, if the condensation drain hasn’t been maintained, make sure to have that done prior to leaving so it doesn’t stop up and cause damage.
Pro Tip: Install a smart thermostat, so you can change the temperature of your home from your phone.
6. Turn Out Your Lights, or Use Timers
It can be useful to leave a light or two on to make it look like someone’s home. But if the same couple of lights are on 24/7, day after day, that’s just as big a giveaway as all the lights being off or on.
The best way to deal with this is to put your lights on timers. That way, you can schedule one or more lamps or lights to turn on and off at different times during the day.
7. Clean Out the Fridge
You definitely don’t want to come home to the smells of sour milk and other expired perishables. Clean out your fridge to remove any items that won’t be good when you return. This may include milk and other dairy products, as well as fruits and veggies, cold cuts, and other fridge staples.
8. Unplug Electronics and Appliances
Many appliances and electronics use electricity when plugged in, even if they’re not in active use. Unplug them before you leave to minimize your utility bill and protect against power surges and other electrical problems.
9. Take Care of Valuables
If you have a safe or safe deposit box, make sure everything valuable is safely stored before leaving for your vacation. For valuables you store at home that aren’t secured safely, consider hiding them in unconventional locations such as the kids’ rooms, laundry, or kitchen. You may want to set a reminder on your cell phone for when you return home so you don’t forget where you moved something to if it isn’t in its normal place.
10. Double-Check Security
Once everything else is taken care of, double-check your windows and doors to make sure everything is locked up. Arm your home security system if you have one. If you have a spare key hidden anywhere outside, remove it and take it with you or give it to a trusted friend or neighbor.
Preparing Your Home for Vacation Equals Peace of Mind!
Going on vacation is supposed to be a time to unwind and rest, but you can’t do that if you’re constantly worrying about home security or loss! By taking care of these few quick home preparation tasks before you leave for vacation, you’ll help make your house safe and secure while you’re gone, so you can fully relax.
