We've all heard about winterizing a home, but what about summerizing? We here around Texoma love our summer vacation homes. Summerizing a home can be just as beneficial and safety-conscious as winterizing. Say you're here for 2 weeks in June, but won;t return until the fall? Or Christmas and New Years? What should you do with your home while you're away?
Here are some quick tips to keep that vacation home (or your "regular" house, while you're here on vacation) trouble free.
2. Turn the A/C thermostat up to 90 degrees. This will keep your home cool enough to not damage the structure or your belongings. If possible, have a neighbor or trusted friend come over once a week to open some windows and turn on ceiling fans to "air" out the house.This is very important to maintain the structural integrity of the home. In cold weather, set it to 55 to stay warm enough for things to not be damaged by cold, but not be heating unnecessarily.
3. Fill gallons of water and place several throughout the house to add moisture over time. You don't want to have to repair trim wood or furniture all over the house due to extended periods of interior dryness, do you?
4. Unplug electronic devices. TV’s and computers commonly use more energy in stand by mode than when turned on. Prevent wasteful spending by simply unplugging your electronics while away.
5. Keep window shades closed and sun screens on the exterior windows to minimize heat gain during the daytime. Consider installing sunscreens on your east and west windows to stay up at all times when you're away from home for extended periods of time.
6. In the kitchen, remove food from the house to discourage pests. Store staples such as sugar or flour in sealed metal, glass or thick plastic containers. Imagine coming to your cabin to find pests everywhere because you didn't close a bag of chips! Bugs and pests breed and stay as long as there's a food source!
7. The best refrigerator solution is to turn it off, empty it and prop open the doors. The next best solution is to empty out items which will spoil and add items like large bottles of water, etc. to help retain the cold and help the unit use less energy. Empty refrigerators use way more energy than full ones. Don't forget to turn off the ice maker, and place a box of baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb odors. If you have candles and plan to leave your refrigerator on, place the candles in the fridge so they don't soften during the summer. (that one is really cool!)
8. Regarding other appliances, put 2-3 tbsp. of vegetable oil in the dishwasher to keep the rubber seals moist and pliable. Do NOT latch the door closed. Also, put 2-3 tbsp. of vegetable oil in the garbage disposal to help keep the blades from locking up with rust. Remember to unplug other home appliances throughout the house, such as space heaters, humidifiers, and fans. Open the door on the clothes washer and dryer (if recently used) to prevent mildew.
9. Foiling burglars: With telephones, turn the ringers off so thieves can't hear if no one is answering the phone. Don't leave a message on the answering machine that tells callers you're out-of-town. Instead, say you're away from the phone and you'll get back to them. Ask a neighbor to pick up stray newspapers, flyers, packages etc. and make sure that neighbor has your contact information and a key. Ask the neighbor to park in your driveway occasionally to make the home looks occupied. Common sense says lock all doors and windows, but did you know you can place wood dowels in the tracks of patio door sliders and in window frames as a secondary "lock"? Cheap, efficient, smart. If you have a security system, USE IT, and have their sign in your yard and stickers on your windows. If you don't have a security system, consider buying fake security company signs to post. Visual deterrents to theft are half the battle.
8. Regarding other appliances, put 2-3 tbsp. of vegetable oil in the dishwasher to keep the rubber seals moist and pliable. Do NOT latch the door closed. Also, put 2-3 tbsp. of vegetable oil in the garbage disposal to help keep the blades from locking up with rust. Remember to unplug other home appliances throughout the house, such as space heaters, humidifiers, and fans. Open the door on the clothes washer and dryer (if recently used) to prevent mildew.
9. Foiling burglars: With telephones, turn the ringers off so thieves can't hear if no one is answering the phone. Don't leave a message on the answering machine that tells callers you're out-of-town. Instead, say you're away from the phone and you'll get back to them. Ask a neighbor to pick up stray newspapers, flyers, packages etc. and make sure that neighbor has your contact information and a key. Ask the neighbor to park in your driveway occasionally to make the home looks occupied. Common sense says lock all doors and windows, but did you know you can place wood dowels in the tracks of patio door sliders and in window frames as a secondary "lock"? Cheap, efficient, smart. If you have a security system, USE IT, and have their sign in your yard and stickers on your windows. If you don't have a security system, consider buying fake security company signs to post. Visual deterrents to theft are half the battle.
10. To help add moisture for your furniture, place several 5 gallon buckets of water around the house.
Close blinds to reduce sunlight hitting fabrics and fading them. If using light timers, leave the blinds open slightly (tilted up) to let light shine out so the home looks occupied. Open all doors to rooms and closets to allow for air flow.
11. Your water supply: wrap toilet bowls with cling wrap to keep the water from evaporating. Do NOT put bleach tablets in the tank. Turn off inside water valves at the washer, under sinks, and at toilets. Valves like to be used. When they're not used, they stick, they rot, they leak. Better yet, shut off the main water valve when leaving.
12. Change the furnace/air unit filter(s), especially if you are leaving the A/C on. You could turn it off completely, but if not, set it to a high temperature (90+) in the summer. Check and close your fireplace damper. Trust me...you don't want a raccoon or family of squirrels running around your house that can't get out. They'll make nests in all your expensive furniture.
13. Outside the home, trim trees and bushes away from the house, so as not to obscure windows and doors (this gives burglars great privacy to break in.) Set your irrigation timer to the summer watering cycle. Replace the 9v battery in the control box annually. Many sprinkler systems will default to a daily watering cycle on all zones if that battery goes dead, and you could waste a LOT of water. Drain fountains or water statues and treat with appropriate chemicals to avoid mosquito infestation. Store your patio furniture and barbecue grill in the garage, since sun and rain do lots of damage to these expensive items. Do NOT drain your hot tub. The extended periods of heat can damage it if emtpty. Turn off the heating system for the water, but leave the filtering system on.
11. Your water supply: wrap toilet bowls with cling wrap to keep the water from evaporating. Do NOT put bleach tablets in the tank. Turn off inside water valves at the washer, under sinks, and at toilets. Valves like to be used. When they're not used, they stick, they rot, they leak. Better yet, shut off the main water valve when leaving.
12. Change the furnace/air unit filter(s), especially if you are leaving the A/C on. You could turn it off completely, but if not, set it to a high temperature (90+) in the summer. Check and close your fireplace damper. Trust me...you don't want a raccoon or family of squirrels running around your house that can't get out. They'll make nests in all your expensive furniture.
13. Outside the home, trim trees and bushes away from the house, so as not to obscure windows and doors (this gives burglars great privacy to break in.) Set your irrigation timer to the summer watering cycle. Replace the 9v battery in the control box annually. Many sprinkler systems will default to a daily watering cycle on all zones if that battery goes dead, and you could waste a LOT of water. Drain fountains or water statues and treat with appropriate chemicals to avoid mosquito infestation. Store your patio furniture and barbecue grill in the garage, since sun and rain do lots of damage to these expensive items. Do NOT drain your hot tub. The extended periods of heat can damage it if emtpty. Turn off the heating system for the water, but leave the filtering system on.
14. Speaking of the garage, disconnect car batteries on vehicles being left behind. Leave golf cart batteries on a trickle charge. Fill the golf cart batteries and car battery. Turn the water heater to "vacation" or "pilot" settings. Disconnect your hot water circulator, or set it to the off position. That's lots of wasted energy circulating unused hot water when you're not there.
15. Just before leaving, shut off the house main water valve but leave the landscaping water valves on, to avoid your entire lawn dying off (and make arrangements for the yard to be kept up...). Unplug the garage door opener and lock garage door. Turn on the security system if you have one. Double check that all doors and windows are locked making sure the door between the garage and the house is locked. Leave by the front door and lock it!
Hopefully, these tips can help you save some time getting settled back in, once you arrive back at wonderful Texoma!
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