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Are you Going on Vacation? Here are Some Steps that Will Ensure your Home is Safe While You and Your Family are Elsewhere.
3/20/2021 (Permalink)
We hope these tips help to protect your home and give you increased peace of mind during your next vacation.
www.SERVPROdanecountywest.com
According to a study by AAA, thirty-five percent of Americans plan on taking at least one family vacation every year.
If you plan on traveling for more than a couple of days, then you should make sure your home is adequately protected while you’re away. Here are some steps that will ensure your home is safe while you and your family are elsewhere.
Don’t let people know your home is empty.
- Suspend mail and newspaper services. You can sign up online to suspend USPS mail service and have your mail delivered to a local post office for up to thirty days. For trips longer than thirty days, you should ask a neighbor or friend to pick up your mail. Contact your newspaper provider and ask them to postpone deliveries temporarily.
- Arrange for lawn care services while you’re gone to make your home seem less abandoned to strangers.
- Install exterior lighting or motion detectors to deter burglars.
- Wait to post vacation pictures on social media. Enjoy the time with your family or friends, and post pictures when you return.
Accident proof your home.
- Check the batteries in home security devices, including motion detectors, cameras, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Replace them if necessary.
- Shut off the main water supply. Often a homeowner will call us upon returning from vacation because they have learned a broken pipe or malfunctioning leaking appliance has caused water damage. No one wants to come home to a fire or water disaster. ahead
- Conserve energy. Switch your water heater to vacation mode or turn it off completely. Most water heaters now have a pre-programmed vacation mode. If yours does not, then you should be able to adjust the temperature manually. Set your thermostat to either four degrees above or below your average room temperature.
- Prevent a power surge by unplugging your electronics or plugging them into a surge protector.
- If you often lose power during a storm or day of heavy rain, then before you leave for vacation freeze a cup of water, place a penny on top of it, and leave it in your freezer. If the penny is not frozen on top when you return, then this means your house lost power sometime during your trip. Inspect the food inside your refrigerator and freezer. You may need to throw several items away.
We hope these tips help to protect your home and give you increased peace of mind during your next vacation.
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