grasshopper
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Pour a gallon of water in the unused bathtub drain so it won't evaporate while you are gone.
Securing the house for extended trips - recommendations/tips?
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harley
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We go to FL for 6+ months/year. In our MD home, I've got wifi cameras and thermostats, as well as a (nearly) whole house generator. We turn off the well pump, the hot water heater, drain the pipes (but don't blow them out), RV antifreeze in the j-bends. Got a bunch of timers on lamps. We use them when we're there or gone. Very convenient. Set the heat to 48. Got a few neighbors that keep an eye on the place. One will drive in our driveway a time or two if it snows.
I leave food in the fridge, although mostly condiments and soft drinks and such. Whatever is in the freezer stays. I do the bag of ice cubes thing just to make sure.
As far as mail, I forward our mail to the FL house a week before we leave. I put in a hold mail request in FL to hold it until we get there. I force DW to quit ordering stuff that might be delivered UPS or FedEx a couple of weeks before we go.
Bring in all the deck furniture, store the kayaks, trim the roses and mulch the beds. Preen where we can use it, especially on the paver driveway. Before we started doing that we came home to 6" weeds in the driveway.
I think that's about it. So far (5 years) it's worked out pretty well.
The FL house is easier. No freeze worries (just hurricanes). Water and HW heater off, RV antifreeze in, empty and unplug the fridge, keep an eye on the wifi cameras and thermostat. Do the same thing with the mail.
I leave food in the fridge, although mostly condiments and soft drinks and such. Whatever is in the freezer stays. I do the bag of ice cubes thing just to make sure.
As far as mail, I forward our mail to the FL house a week before we leave. I put in a hold mail request in FL to hold it until we get there. I force DW to quit ordering stuff that might be delivered UPS or FedEx a couple of weeks before we go.
Bring in all the deck furniture, store the kayaks, trim the roses and mulch the beds. Preen where we can use it, especially on the paver driveway. Before we started doing that we came home to 6" weeds in the driveway.
I think that's about it. So far (5 years) it's worked out pretty well.
The FL house is easier. No freeze worries (just hurricanes). Water and HW heater off, RV antifreeze in, empty and unplug the fridge, keep an eye on the wifi cameras and thermostat. Do the same thing with the mail.
pb4uski
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We have Blink wi-fi video surveilance on each entry door and the dooryard, and Sensi thermostats that I can use to monitor or adjust the temperatures. I turn off the domestic water so there is no water pressure. We leave condiments and such in the fridge but do consolidate the two fridges into one and unplug the other one. And forward mail... I yank the mailbox so no mail can be delivered. Also have a neighbor who waters DW's plants and checks in on things.
FUEGO
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We leave for a month or two at a time in the summer. It gets hot so we leave the AC on 89 and it runs just enough to eliminate some humidity and keep it from getting extremely hot on the worst days.
I shut the water off at the main shutoff (have to crawl under the house for 30 feet but it's cool under there). For shorter trips I'll shut off the valves to each toilet since those seem to be the most common massive leak culprit.
Mail gets forwarded to my mom's house since the USPS only holds for 30 days (and our local post office throws a lot of stuff in the trash I think).
Motion activated security lights around the house - hard to gain access to sides or rear without being lit up suddenly.
Timed lights inside the house.
Folks "exercise" our van every week or two - drive it around the block to keep the battery charged, tires rotated, and fluids circulated.
A friend wanted to park his boat in our rear yard while we were gone so he was in and out frequently too.
Let many neighbors know we would be gone - they're out and about a lot walking, snooping, etc so very helpful in that regard (and always on facebook!).
Neighbor kid mowed the grass.
In other words lots of people are in, out, and around the house on a pretty routine basis so it looks kind of lived in. 14 years and zero property crimes so far. It'll happen eventually (city livin'!) but so far we've been fortunate.
I shut the water off at the main shutoff (have to crawl under the house for 30 feet but it's cool under there). For shorter trips I'll shut off the valves to each toilet since those seem to be the most common massive leak culprit.
Mail gets forwarded to my mom's house since the USPS only holds for 30 days (and our local post office throws a lot of stuff in the trash I think).
Motion activated security lights around the house - hard to gain access to sides or rear without being lit up suddenly.
Timed lights inside the house.
Folks "exercise" our van every week or two - drive it around the block to keep the battery charged, tires rotated, and fluids circulated.
A friend wanted to park his boat in our rear yard while we were gone so he was in and out frequently too.
Let many neighbors know we would be gone - they're out and about a lot walking, snooping, etc so very helpful in that regard (and always on facebook!).
Neighbor kid mowed the grass.
In other words lots of people are in, out, and around the house on a pretty routine basis so it looks kind of lived in. 14 years and zero property crimes so far. It'll happen eventually (city livin'!) but so far we've been fortunate.
CRLLS
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Even going away for the weekend could have the same consequences as a longer time away. We are on our own well. In the summer months, we shut off the well pump power, pressure tank valve and water heater . Only a few gallons could leak at best. In the Winter, since we have baseboard and in-floor heat, we keep the water on but turn down the heat to about 60. I don't want the boiler to run dry. We also set some lamp timers, place a security bar at the patio slider door.
On longer 1-week or more travels, we stop the mail and tell the neighbor we will be gone. She has our phone number and our local DS's phone number if something needs attention. We trade off watching each other's hose as we can see each other from our houses. I try to keep as few people informed that we are gone. Certainly don't post any social media of the great things we are doing while we are away.
A couple of years ago, we had just gotten back from a long weekend and turned the water back on. about 2 hrs later, the pressure tank failed, catastrophically. Had to quickly turn off the pump otherwise it would have filled the house! It was a good thing we were there when it went!
On longer 1-week or more travels, we stop the mail and tell the neighbor we will be gone. She has our phone number and our local DS's phone number if something needs attention. We trade off watching each other's hose as we can see each other from our houses. I try to keep as few people informed that we are gone. Certainly don't post any social media of the great things we are doing while we are away.
A couple of years ago, we had just gotten back from a long weekend and turned the water back on. about 2 hrs later, the pressure tank failed, catastrophically. Had to quickly turn off the pump otherwise it would have filled the house! It was a good thing we were there when it went!
Forgot about snow shoveling. Last winter we had a tremendous amount of snow. So much that it was almost hard to throw it high enough on the berms. The city trucked it out of downtown. The city has a policy of your sidewalks clear same day. Never enforced AFAIK. But still. We ended up hiring a guy on an ATV to plow our common alley & driveways. Everybody else responsible for sidewalks. And single ladies, widows & orphans got help. ie: the strong young men did it
How do you snowbirds handle snow removal?
How do you snowbirds handle snow removal?
Sunset
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Why not just use the normal USPS mail forwarding service which costs $1.00 if you register online, and free at the Post Office.
They will send all the mail to the new place, I find there is a delay of about 7-10 days for it to arrive in the beginning. They hold it at the post office for a while before sending it.
It does stop coming to your house by the day after you say to start the service.
It's good for 6 months.
Sunset
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I have a device to monitor the house:
https://www.amazon.com/Control-Products-FreezeAlarm-Temperature-HS-700/dp/B002MUAIP8
It will phone 3 numbers if the house has a power failure more than 15 minutes, or if the basement flood, or the temp goes too low or too high (fire).
I have it phone me, and I can remotely over the phone turn off the alert, as it will keep dialing the 3 numbers with a message until someone turns off the alert.
We also have SimpliSafe, I like that it works even if a power failure is occurring (until the batteries die).
https://www.amazon.com/Control-Products-FreezeAlarm-Temperature-HS-700/dp/B002MUAIP8
It will phone 3 numbers if the house has a power failure more than 15 minutes, or if the basement flood, or the temp goes too low or too high (fire).
I have it phone me, and I can remotely over the phone turn off the alert, as it will keep dialing the 3 numbers with a message until someone turns off the alert.
We also have SimpliSafe, I like that it works even if a power failure is occurring (until the batteries die).
I hire a company for the season to shovel the sidewalk and driveway any time the snow is 2" deep or more.
omni
Ronstar
Moderator Emeritus
I have a guy plow the driveway if there is more than a few inches of snow. Less than 3", we have a friend make car tracks on our drive up to our gate. Both give the impression from the street that someone is home. No sidewalk or garage apron snow removal - these areas cant be seen from the street.
pb4uski
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We have a long driveway so we have a plow guy that plows if we get more than 3-5". A neighbor who monitors the property shovels a path between the garage and the house... about 15' and a path to the propane tank.
pb4uski
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...
As I 'snowbird' for up to 7 months, in true LBYM style, for extended absences I also notify the Solid Waste Dept. of the township of my departure and return dates...and get a credit on my water bill for not putting trash out for pick-up.
omni
My Mom changes the insurance on her car to just comprehensive since it is just sitting in the garage.
Surewhitey
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We took 8 month away and sold everything. Changed our address to DD for mail & residence...we have all our payment systems automatic.
Now, I'd consider renting a place if we ever sold our home and not have to worry with it or have a basic home-base with no maintenance. Many MIL apartments in our neighborhood would work for this...
Now, I'd consider renting a place if we ever sold our home and not have to worry with it or have a basic home-base with no maintenance. Many MIL apartments in our neighborhood would work for this...
walkinwood
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Great tips here. We do a lot of them and will consider adding some ideas. Recently, I upgraded our light-timers to electronic ones that can be controlled through our smartphones.
We also added a Ring Pro doorbell. Our porch light is controlled by switch that turns it on at sundown and off at sunrise. We use a lock on our garage door so that it doesn't open by some random signal.
We have removed all the grass in our small yard and hell strip (the portion between the sidewalk and road) and replaced it with a hard/xeriscape with automated irrigation.
We have wonderful neighbors and we leave a key with them at all times (even when we are here). Our neighbor walks through the house about once a week, waters some plants and otherwise just makes sure that there is no issue. It is a great comfort to us that he does this. We shovel snow for our neighbors when it snows mid-week, and they return the favor when we are away.
We also added a Ring Pro doorbell. Our porch light is controlled by switch that turns it on at sundown and off at sunrise. We use a lock on our garage door so that it doesn't open by some random signal.
We have removed all the grass in our small yard and hell strip (the portion between the sidewalk and road) and replaced it with a hard/xeriscape with automated irrigation.
We have wonderful neighbors and we leave a key with them at all times (even when we are here). Our neighbor walks through the house about once a week, waters some plants and otherwise just makes sure that there is no issue. It is a great comfort to us that he does this. We shovel snow for our neighbors when it snows mid-week, and they return the favor when we are away.
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YVRRocketSurgery
Full time employment: Posting here.
Love the tips. I wouldn't mind putting up some wifi cameras around the house.
Just wanted to share what crappy luck my friend has had while travelling.
One year, we went down to Vegas for a few days and it snowed hard enough to collapse his car port on top of his car.
During another trip, one of the pipes sprung a leak. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad of a leak but it damaged a basement ceiling and wall.
Just wanted to share what crappy luck my friend has had while travelling.
One year, we went down to Vegas for a few days and it snowed hard enough to collapse his car port on top of his car.
During another trip, one of the pipes sprung a leak. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad of a leak but it damaged a basement ceiling and wall.
Senator
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I am actually considering both options. I will be traveling for a couple of weeks until I get to the new place, and a couple of weeks after I leave. I want to make sure I do not miss any mail, maybe that option would work.
I did attempt to call the post office. The system said the hold wait time would be over an hour...
45th Birthday
Recycles dryer sheets
This reminded me of something I left off my list above. Our house alarm system has water sensors in the basement next to two sump pumps and an ejector pump.
Years ago, we had just moved into a different house and right before we went on a long trip had an irrigation system installed that included a pump in the basement to get water to the far reaches of the system. The idiots who installed it wired the pump into the same circuit as the sump pump, and also mis-wired it so it tripped the breaker when the irrigation system turned on. Within a day or so we had heavy rains, and no sump pump. The neighbor who checked on the house found the carpet in the basement floating in three inches of water. Lesson learned. We had water sensors added to the alarm system right away.
RAE
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Fortunately, we have a great neighbor who has both an ATV/plow and a snowblower. He told me he kind of enjoys snow removal, so for a very modest amount of $$, he is happy to do the snow removal at our house when we are gone. Same guy has a key to the house and checks on some other things inside the house when we are gone also. It helps to have at least one great neighbor.
For mail, we used a service called virtualpostmail.com. We were very happy with them. We didn't want the hassle of actually forwarding our mail. Most of our bills are electronic but we didn't want to miss the odd things we couldn't predict - jury summons, personal letter, etc. The service we chose was $20/month. We forwarded mail to a PO Box and they scanned in the envelope info and emailed it to us. If there was something we wanted to see the contents of, they would scan it in and email it. If we wanted it physically sent, we could have them do that for a nominal additional fee. Worked great.
Also turned off main water line, kept our housekeeping service going to flush toilets and do special projects while we were away, and a neighbor periodically checked in.
Also turned off main water line, kept our housekeeping service going to flush toilets and do special projects while we were away, and a neighbor periodically checked in.
audreyh1
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RV antifreeze is safe for plumbing - its intended use in an RV to fill water lines etc if the RV will be exposed to freezing temps. Auto antifreeze is for radiators only. Don't pour that into your plumbing!
Walmart carries RV antifreeze. The RV section is somewhere close to the auto section.
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walkinwood
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Create a checklist of all the things you need to do before you leave. Check them off as you do them and recheck just before you leave.
I do it on my phone so that I can look at it later (or show DW) if we have any doubts.
I have another list for my packing.
I do it on my phone so that I can look at it later (or show DW) if we have any doubts.
I have another list for my packing.
harley
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That's an excellent idea!
I've got a question for y'all. I've got a fair amount of experience in leaving houses for extended periods, but this is a new one for me. We own a townhouse that DD and family were renting from us, but they bought and moved out. We've decided to keep it for awhile to use when we're visiting.
We were there last week until yesterday, and when I shut it down for the winter I did everything I usually do. However, this place has a gas hot water heater, and I don't have any experience with them. There was no vacation setting, so I just turned it down to very low. I didn't want to turn it off, as I wasn't sure what to do about the pilot light. Do any of you have a similar situation, and if so, what's the best solution?
That's what I've been doing with my gas hot water heater for my extended absences.
omni
