Closing up Your Home when you Leave for the Desert. Recently we blogged about how to open up your home in the Desert, but what should you do when you close up your other home for the cold winter months?
The last thing you want to do when coming home from enjoying several sun-filled months in Coachella Valley is to come home to broken water pipes and damage from inside flooding your home.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Turn off the water supply at the main water shut off where it is coming into your home.
- Drain all the water lines. This is easy enough to do – open the faucets and let them drain until the water stops flowing out. This also includes the toilets and their tanks by flushing until it no longer fills and the bowl is dry. It may also be a good idea to fill the tank and bowl with antifreeze just in case, not all the water is drained out.
- You may want to turn off the water heater since no water will fill it.
- Turn down your heat, ideally between 55 and 60 degrees.
- Unplug all of your Appliances – even your TVs and microwave. Minimalize your refrigerator contents, getting rid of any perishables.
- Take out your trash and compost bin! It’s easy to run off only to return to something growing in your trash can.
- Forward your mail to your home in the Desert and stop/pause your newspaper delivery.
- See if you can pause your cable service.
- Clean your gutters. If your gutters are filled with leaves and sticks, you may risk ice building up and causing roof damage.
- Unplug your garage door and ensure the door from your house to your garage is locked, too. If you have garage door openers in your cars and your car is in the driveway, remove the openers and take them into the house.
Notifications when You’re Away
- Let your Fire Department, Police Department, and Homeowners Association know you will be away and for how long.
- Line up someone to come in to check on your home and water your plants.
- Set out “sticky traps” to capture any mice or bugs who want to enter your home when you’re gone. If someone is checking on your plants, perhaps they can check for pests (and remove them) and replace the stickies for the next unwanted visitor.
- Check with your insurance agent to see if you’re home will still be covered if you’re gone for a long time. “Vacant Homes” may not be covered if it’s over 6 months – best to check before you’re gone.
- Line up a dependable person for snow removal. Some municipalities levy a fine if snow is left on the sidewalks longer than 24 hours.
- Set up light timers in several rooms and go off at different times when you’re closing up your home when you leave for the Desert . If you want peace of mind while you’re away, there are smart systems (with cameras) that monitor anyone breaking in, but there are also systems that will monitor water leaks.
- As hard as it will be to brag about golfing and having fun in the Desert sunshine to your frozen friends back home, you may want to wait … when you post online where you are and what you’re doing, you’re also announcing your home is vacant.
- The most important thing is to hurry up and get back here!! It’s going to be a great season this year, and there’s a lot to do once you get here. So let me know when you’re headed back to Coachella Valley! I would love to see you when you’re back in the Sunshine!!