Security company: If you have one, notify the company that you will be gone. Smoke detectors: Make sure they are in working condition. Small appliances, computers, televisions: Unplug these items. Other considerations for any length of vacation Long-term: Arrange for a lawn service to take care of your landscaping while you are away. Short-term: Mow your lawn and trim shortly before your trip. Depending on how it looks, it also can be considered blight. Toss or donate unopened boxes of food (or, if you plan to keep them, put them in plastic bags to deter pests.)ĭetails: An untrimmed lawn can be a sign to burglars that you are away from home. Also, check expiration dates of unopened items. Short-term: Throw away opened bags and boxes of food (or give to friends). Fill it with bottles of water so it will run more efficiently.ĭetails: Avoid having to call an exterminator after you return by leaving your kitchen and pantry clean. The other is to keep the refrigerator running. One is to unplug the refrigerator and leave the door open to prevent mildew, odor and mold. Long-term: Clean out the refrigerator either throw items away or give them to a neighbor. Short-term: Throw out perishables such as milk that will expire while you're gone. Make sure your security lights are outfitted with CFL bulbs, which save on energy and are long-lasting.ĭetails: Don't come home from your trip to a refrigerator filled with spoiled food. Put the security lights on variable timers. Short-term: Turn off all lights except the ones you want as security measures. Have a friend periodically flush the toilets while you are gone.ĭetails: A continually dark house, both inside and out, can be a signal to a burglar that no one is home. Short-term: Pour a half cup of chlorine into the bowl (not the tank). One way to do this is to run the water heater until it is empty and let it refill again.ĭetails: Toilets can collect bacteria, which can cause stains. 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. The water heater will run occasionally but not nearly as often as it does normally. Most newer water heaters are equipped with such a setting. Short term: Set the temperature on 'vacation' mode. Also, have the friend flush toilets and run the dishwasher.ĭetails: Why run up your electric bill heating water that you're not going to be there to use? This will help prevent sewer gas from entering the house while you are gone and can keep parts of plumbing fixtures from drying out or cracking. While you're gone, have a neighbor or friend turn on the water and run the faucets at least once a month. Such items may include an ice maker, an automatic sprinkler system that doesn't have a separate shut-off, and a pool. Short-term: Turn off water at the main shut-off valve, unless some household items require it to remain on. Also, have a neighbor, friend or pool service check the pool periodically to make sure the pump is operating properly.ĭetails: No one wants to come home from a relaxing vacation to a plumbing leak.

Im away from home