August is upon us, and for many, that means summer vacations. If you’ve planned to take a trip somewhere with the family this year, we hope you have an incredible time making new memories. Before you leave though, be sure you’ve done the following things to keep your home clean and protected while you’re gone.
Check the Thermostat
It’s so important to consider the right temperature to set your home while you’re gone for an extended period of time. It doesn’t mean shutting off the system entirely is the right choice either. Getting too warm or too cold in the interior has its own issues. Plus if you have pets in the house you want to keep them comfortable too. A good rule of thumb is to move the temperature up 4 degrees to lower your energy usage without making a big difference. If you want more control over the temperatures and monitoring them while away you can also invest in a smart thermostat that offers an app for you to control from anywhere.
Consider Water Usage
Some people recommend turning off the main water supply totally while away to ensure there is no leaks or other major water issues that occur while you’re away but if you have other things running in the home that require water supply like automatic sprinklers or a fish tank this probably isn’t an option. For peace of mind, you can have a leak detection sensor installed as well as use smart systems that allow you to monitor and even shut off the water if a leak is detected.
Lock Up!
One of the greatest pieces of advice we can give to anyone who is going on vacation is to lock up. Security is so important. In addition to locking all the windows and doors in your home be sure your security cameras are running and don’t have a branch or other obstruction in the view and try to keep from telling everyone on social media about your plans to be away from your home.