Top 4 Winterizing Tips to Get You Started on a Safe Journey.
It is that time of year again where those lucky snow birds escape winter weather for some sunny respite.
1. Electrical
- Unplug all of your electrical appliances. Winter storms power outages can easily sweep through a home and destroy anything plugged in to a power outlet. No need to leave small appliances, computers or Television devices plugged in while you are alway.
- Leave your refrigerator plugged in, remove perishable items and for safety sake, pack the freezer with ice.
- Turnoff the circuit breaker to your water heater of unplug it, no need to keep heating hot water for no reason.
- Put fresh batteries in all of your smoke alarms.
- Consider purchasing an auto programmable thermostat or even better invest in an app based Thermostat, like Nest, so you can monitor your AC and Heat remotely.
2. Plumbing
- Pour Bleach down drains.
- Turn off your water supply line
- Ensure all faucets are turned off.
- Turn off your washing machine’s water supply and the water supply lines for each of your toilets.
- Securely seal off your toilet bowls with plastic wrap so insects won’t enter your home through the plumbing after the lines dry out.
3. Stop Services
Be sure to contact service providers and have them put your services on hold. Most of these companies have other snowbird clients and will have no issues with temporarily suspending your services.
- Put a temporary stop on your gym or club memberships
- Many providers like Comcast allow for a discounted rate, while still leaving your wifi service active.
- Suspend Newspapers and Periodical publications.
- Do not cancel utility services as re-connection can be quite expensive.
4. Inform Others
- If you live in a condominium building, contact your security office and inform them of your departure. You may wish to leave a key with the office in case of an emergency, but this is not a requirement.
- Ask someone you trust to stop by every so often to tend to plants and retrieve any mail or flyers from your porch (a mailbox overflowing with flyers is a sure sign of an empty house, making your home a target for burglary).
- Give your neighbor an updated contact list with phone numbers and an email address where you can be reached if an emergency occurs.
- Hire a professional Home Waatch Service provider that can check and repair issues before they become a big problem.
In summary, a little pre-trip planning can prevent preempted vacation or a disastrous return.
