Vacationing? Tend To These Home-Maintenance Essentials Before You Leave

Preparing for your summer vacation involves more than booking flights and hotels and making sure you pack everything you need in your luggage. It should also include getting your home ready for your absence. Whether you’ll be gone a few days or a few months, here are some home-maintenance essentials that will help keep your home safe from unexpected damage and secure from criminals.

• If possible, make arrangements for someone to take care of your home and pets while you’re gone, or have pets cared for at a boarding service. If no one is available to help watch your home, have mail and newspaper deliveries suspended until you return.
• If no one is going to be occupying your home while you’re away, turn off the air conditioner. If pets will still be there, set the cooling system to 85 degrees to maintain a sensible level of cooling.
• Turn down the temperature on your hot water heater to at least 120 degrees. Unless you’re only going to be gone a few days, shut off the water heater entirely.
• Shut off your home’s water at the main supply valve. With no water flowing into your home, there is no chance that leaks, burst pipes or other water damage will occur when you are away.
• Turn off and unplug appliances, electronics and other energy-consuming devices that won’t be used or needed while you’re gone.
• Turn off all lights you don’t need for security. Install a timer for other lights in your home so that they occasionally turn off and on. This saves energy and makes it appear as though someone is at home.
• Set your security system if you have one and make sure anyone taking care of your house knows the alarm code and emergency phone numbers.
• Discard food that can expire or spoil while you are away. Take all trash out for regular pick-up or disposal before you leave.

Air-Tro Inc. has provided design, installation, repair and maintenance to customers in the greater Los Angeles area for more than 43 years. Contact us today for more information on vacation preparation and pre-vacation home-maintenance essentials

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about home maintenance and other HVAC topics, visit our website.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County.