How long can you leave home and leave it empty?

[fh2000]

I have never left my primary residence for more than 2 weeks.

Thinking of after RE, DW and I will start travelling. Let's say we will be gone for 2 months. I am not sure what to do with the house.


I can think of these actions:

Shut off water
Turn water heater to pilot
Stop mail
Call home security we are gone for (... days)
Ask a friend to come to check once in a while.
(No pets)
(kids should be at college dorms)


I am always wondering what happens if you come home and found it demolished (have you seen that news?) or burglarized or burned down?

 

[Ronstar]

Here's my routine

Shut off water
Set timer lighting
Set AC high or heat low
Shut off water heater or set to vacation
Unplug garage door opener
Hold mail
Make sure ip cameras can be seen remotely ( this will tell you if/when the house is demolished) - good to have one camera positioned to read indoor thermometer

 

[Hopeful]

My in laws would always have some water in jugs to pour down the drains occasionally when we would check on the house. Sometimes they would just cover the drains and toilets with plastic wrap. They were trying to keep the water from evaporating from the trap. Though I am not sure how long it would really take for the water to evaporate from a trap, let alone a toilet- that is what they always did.

 

[REWahoo]

I am always wondering what happens if you come home and found it demolished (have you seen that news?) or burglarized or burned down?

The same thing that happens if you find that unpleasant surprise after you come home from a trip to the grocery store - call the cops and your insurance company.

We take trips of 4-6 weeks and follow your checklist and the other items Ronstar suggested. So far no surprises.

 

[pb4uski]

In a place i wineterized (different subject I know) we blew out the traps and filled then with RV antifreeze. It was still there 5-6 months later. I don't think it is physically possible for water to evaporate out of a trap or toilet bowl in such a short period of time so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

 

[REWahoo]

They were trying to keep the water from evaporating from the trap.

Although we aren't gone long enough to worry about that happening, I understand you can pour a cup of vegetable oil down all the drains to prevent evaporation and avoid a stinky sewer gas surprise when you get home.

 

[meierlde]

Unplug electronics in particular stay at home computers routers and the like. One might also unplug large screen tvs. This is in particular to protect against lighting caused power surges.

 

[W2R]

I don't recall leaving my home for more than 6 days since buying it in 2002. As many of you probably know by now, I am not much of a traveler and my home means the world to me.

Perhaps the solution to these problems is buying in a high rise condo building with a secure entry or doorman. It would probably be very easy to just lock and go with a set-up like that.

 

[Ronstar]

Although we aren't gone long enough to worry about that happening, I understand you can pour a cup of vegetable oil down all the drains to prevent evaporation and avoid a stinky sewer gas surprise when you get home.

Thanks for the tip. Our toilets go dry in our az condo in about 4 weeks. I just let them go dry - there is no smell. Next time I'll try the vegetable oil.

 

[meekie]

Giving your neighbors your cell phone number in case of emergencies would be good if you feel you can trust them, you don't need to necessarily let them know you're going out of town, but at least they could call you if it burned down or something else major.

Our house flooded one day when we were at work, the toilet supply line broke. A neighbor turned off the water to the house when he saw it coming out the front door, but it was 6 hours till we got home. If he had our number, it might have been a lot less damage.

 

[samclem]

Although we aren't gone long enough to worry about that happening, I understand you can pour a cup of vegetable oil down all the drains to prevent evaporation and avoid a stinky sewer gas surprise when you get home.

This works okay, and is a better answer than putting plastic over the drain. Usually, there's a reason a room has a drain in the floor, and if that reason should become apparent (busted overhead pipe, ruptured toilet supply hose, etc) we'd be very sorry we blocked the floor drain with plastic.

Another thing to do before leaving the house for vacation: Turn off the water supply to the washing machine (and leave a note to yourself on the machine that you've done that.)

 

[LOL!]

The neighboring family went on a trip one afternoon and that evening the live-in maid came to our house distressed about the 3 inches of water covering the ground floor. The hose to the washer had broken. The maid had been upstairs all day. We called their cell and they turned around and came home, but the damage was done.

 

[Spudd]

Another thing to do before leaving the house for vacation: Turn off the water supply to the washing machine (and leave a note to yourself on the machine that you've done that.)

We do this every time we do the laundry. Except for the answering machine part.

 

[pb4uski]

Thanks for the tip. Our toilets go dry in our az condo in about 4 weeks. I just let them go dry - there is no smell. Next time I'll try the vegetable oil.

Interesting - I've never heard of that. I assume that you leave your AC on? I heard AZ was dry but never would have thought a toilet bowl full of water would evaporate so quickly. Learn something new every day.

 

[savory]

We find someone who wants to house sit. We have had good luck overall and have been able to help some people out who have needed temp. housing. So far, we have found people by just letting friends and acquaintances know we are looking for someone.

We have also house sat for others when we needed temporary housing. That has worked out well for us.

We have not had a major event, like a broken pipe, in our house, that the house sitter discovered. Once when we were house sitting, a pipe buster (froze) in an upstairs bathroom. That would have been a disaster if we were not there. We caught it right away and there was virtually no damage.

 

[nwsteve]

Here's my routine

Shut off water
Set timer lighting
Set AC high or heat low
Shut off water heater or set to vacation
Unplug garage door opener
Hold mail
Make sure ip cameras can be seen remotely ( this will tell you if/when the house is demolished) - good to have one camera positioned to read indoor thermometer

Our routine is pretty similar (except we do not have the IP cameras).
We were gone a month earlier this year and came back with no problems (yea!!)
If you have an Insta-Hot in your sink I would also un-plug it so it does not boil dry.
RE: Stopping Mail-my understanding is they are limited to all long they will hold mail (month?), but they now offer the ability to have it sent to you at another address(es) via priority mail. Comes with a small fee, of course, and the cost of the priority shipment
If you are going to be gone over the Summer, some proviso should be given to having the lawn mowed as leaving will announce to all you are probably absent.
Having a neighbor park a car in your driveway will also help keep the image up of occupancy.
Nwsteve

 

[RE2Boys]

You may wish to check your insurance coverage. One time I checked and if the home was vacant for over 30 days, glass breakage and freeze damage was not covered. This was 20 years ago in Alabama. Of course, every state and every insurance company may have different criteria.

 

[Texas Proud]

I was gone from my house (except for a 'vacation') for 14 months...

The megacorp sent me to London for 6, but it got extended...

THEN they sent me to NYC for almost 3 years.... but I was able to come home one weekend a month....


Your house can be empty a LONG time if you want...

 

[jollystomper]

Depending on how well you know them and how comfortable you are with others living in your home, a house sitter is an option. We have done this twice, once with a nephew and his wife, the other with a couple where the wife was the daughter of friends. We stocked up the fridge, freezer and pantry and told them to help themselves, put anything we might feel uncomfortable leaving around in our bank safe deposit box. We still stopped the mail so they would have to deal with that. Both happened to be living in apartments at the time, so to be in a house for several weeks was like a vacation for them, and they took very good care of things both inside and outside of the house.

 

[SumDay]

We've had an uptick in burglaries in our neighborhood, and the police came to give us tips to make your home look occupied.

He strongly suggested outside, motion-detecting lighting, fake cameras, having a couple of lamps in the house on alternating timers, doing the same with a radio turned up loud, and finally a fake TV light. I'd never hear of it either, but we got one (on Amazon) and I use it whenever we're away after dark.

From the outside, it really does look like you've got a TV on:

FakeTV - The Burglar Deterrent

Enjoy your travels!

 

[RunningBum]

1. Shut off the main water and drain the lines by running a faucet in the lowest level.
2. Unplug TVs, stereos, etc, and disconnect cable/satellite lines to avoid damage by lightning or power surges.
3. Leave a light on a timer in a front window. Random is better. I also had one of those multi colored LED lights that changed colors in a pattern. I put that on a timer too, to look like a TV. In fact I think I put this one in the front, and a regular light on a timer in the back. Test it to see if it's visible from the outside and open your blinds just enough to make it so.
4. Set your security alarm if you have one. The worst part of a break in would be that the house is now open and weather and wildlife can get in and do more damage.
5. Have a neighbor check and remove any junk left on your front porch and door, and check for broken windows or other signs of break in or damage if you don't have a security alarm (or as a backup). Have them take care of any other obvious signs you aren't there, like removing a tree branch from your driveway.
6. Heat at 50 if there's a chance of a freeze. A/C at 90 in summer.
7. Forward/hold mail
8. Arrange for lawn care or snow shoveling as needed

Two months really isn't a problem as far as the house goes. Just protect yourself against water damage from a broken pipe, limit house damage if a door or window is broken, and do your best to discourage a burglar.

 

[LOL!]

Another way to have burglaries cause you no harm is to have nothing of value in the house. If someone took something from our house, it would probably improve the value of the whole thing and its contents.

 

[RunningBum]

Another way to have burglaries cause you no harm is to have nothing of value in the house. If someone took something from our house, it would probably improve the value of the whole thing and its contents.

When I was shuttling between VA and TX I left my TX house with little of value in it. The only problem is, I couldn't be sure any burglars knew this, and I doubted they'd be polite enough to shut the door behind them or replace any broken glass. Get even just a squirrel in there and you won't be calling it "no harm".

 

[PatSea32]

We leave our home for 2 months in the winter. I installed a wifi enabled thermostat so I can monitor my indoor temperature from my smartphone. Temperature is set at 50 degrees. Provides a lot of peace of mind. I can also control the temperature as needed, so it's at the correct temperature when we arrive home. Great for a weekend trip also. Easy to install, cost $99.

 

[Ronstar]

Interesting - I've never heard of that. I assume that you leave your AC on? I heard AZ was dry but never would have thought a toilet bowl full of water would evaporate so quickly. Learn something new every day.

I leave the AC at 90 in the summer, heat at 50 in the winter. In addition to the toilets, all other traps go dry between trips. Very dry. I have to keep the AC on or the counter top will delaminate and the veneer on the kitchen table will peel during the summer.