[Patf]

I need to leave town for 6 months. Is there a standard procedure for preparing the house? I hear I have to leave the air conditioning on. I also heard I can not shut off the water because the heat pump / air conditioner needs the water. Is that true?

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Patf

I need to leave town for 6 months. Is there a standard procedure for preparing the house? I hear I have to leave the air conditioning on. I also heard I can not shut off the water because the heat pump / air conditioner needs the water. Is that true?

Hiring a Home Watch Company is well worth the price. You can avoid many costly problems. Ask your House Watch professionals for advice on closing up your home. There are MANY companies that offer this service. See other threads on this topic.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Hiring a Home Watch Company is well worth the price. You can avoid many costly problems. Ask your House Watch professionals for advice on closing up your home. There are MANY companies that offer this service. See other threads on this topic.

Great advise---could not agree more!

[CFrance]

We were told by the builder to leave the a/c on set at 82 to avoid mold and humidity problems. He has left empty houses set at this for a year at a time and never had a problem. We told our lawn service to send our service receipts to our northern home address for the four months we are gone. We have neighbors just keep an eye out for anything unusual. A friend has a key. It works fine. Our next-door neighbor, who can only come down for 2-6 weeks at a time, pays $100/month for a house watch, and frankly, we are always picking up for her around her house--poa newspapers, packages, those lawn thingies the landscapers plant in your yard when they fertilize, phone books, etc. I swear I don't know what exactly they do, but she feels good with it, so we don't say anything.

That's my take. We leave the water on. What's to freeze?

[villagerjack]

Originally Posted by CFrance

We were told by the builder to leave the a/c on set at 82 to avoid mold and humidity problems. He has left empty houses set at this for a year at a time and never had a problem. We told our lawn service to send our service receipts to our northern home address for the four months we are gone. We have neighbors just keep an eye out for anything unusual. A friend has a key. It works fine. Our next-door neighbor, who can only come down for 2-6 weeks at a time, pays $100/month for a house watch, and frankly, we are always picking up for her around her house--poa newspapers, packages, those lawn thingies the landscapers plant in your yard when they fertilize, phone books, etc. I swear I don't know what exactly they do, but she feels good with it, so we don't say anything.

That's my take. We leave the water on. What's to freeze?

I used to leave my water on but the toilet broke when I was away and flooded my home causing major problems. Lesson learned. I now have a home watch for $40.00 a month...well worth it since last year my AC went due to red ants eating away at the underground lines. All covered under a Warranty but had I not had a Home Watch my home would have been full of mold.

[shighsmi]

We leave the air on set at 82 with a humidistat. Only goes on when humidity gets above 60%. We shut off water and Hot water heater. Put saran wrap over toilet seats to keep water from evaporating and turning toilets yellow. Turn off ice maker. Leave the fridge on. Our house is all electric and our bill ussually runs about 30.00 a month.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by villagerjack

I used to leave my water on but the toilet broke when I was away and flooded my home causing major problems. Lesson learned. I now have a home watch for $40.00 a month...well worth it since last year my AC went due to red ants eating away at the underground lines. All covered under a Warranty but had I not had a Home Watch my home would have been full of mold.

Actually, my husband says we did turn our water off to the toilets. And we have a friend come in twice a month to check the a/c.

Who is your home watch service that only costs $40/month?

[villagerjack]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Actually, my husband says we did turn our water off to the toilets. And we have a friend come in twice a month to check the a/c.

Who is your home watch service that only costs $40/month?

Affordable Home Watch...Rich and Marge

[Xavier]

Originally Posted by Patf

I need to leave town for 6 months. Is there a standard procedure for preparing the house? I hear I have to leave the air conditioning on. I also heard I can not shut off the water because the heat pump / air conditioner needs the water. Is that true?

I've put together a check-list for our home. Here are the items that are included. I hope it helps.

Turn off the main water valve in the garage (right hand side near overhead door)
Put washing machine water valves in the “off” position (If you don't turn off the water)
Turn off the ice maker and empty it.
Turn hot water tank to the “pilot” position
Bring all of the lanai furniture into the garage
Place saran wrap over toilets and have the lids down to prevent evaporation
Set the A/C to 80 degrees and the Dehumidistat at 50%
Throw out food in the fridge that will not keep for a long period of time
Lock all doors and windows and place dole rods in the sliders. Lock Lanai door.
Close all blinds
Close all drains in sinks
Put garage door in “lock” position
Open all closets and the shower door for circulation
Prop open dishwasher
Disconnect whatever can be unplugged including cable
Pour cap-full of cooking oil in garbage disposal and turn on for a couple seconds
Close the gas line on the golf cart and run the gas out of the carburetor
Check furnace filter
Put trash out
Check that the sprinklers are set correctly and are turned on
Redirect the mail (temporary address change – can be done on-line or mailed in)
Put Directv on suspension
Prior to leaving, submit a change of address for all magazines (can do on-line)
Put open box of baking soda in fridge and freezer
Put Daily Sun Newspaper on vacation
Turn off the breakers for the Spa and lock the breaker box
Tape an index card inside mailbox to remind of temporary address change
Gather all important papers (insurance policies, etc.) that you want to take
Gather and take medications

Xavier

[mulligan]

Actually, there are things that really should be done on an ongoing basis such as running the dishwasher and washing machine at least once a month (every 2 weeks is better) to keep the seals from drying out. Also, a good homewatch person will have weekly eyes on things like bugs, leaks, dropped packages, malfunctioning sprinklers etc....etc...etc. Much better than walking away and leaving the home closed up.

[asianthree]

Call the village sitter, see if she can home watch for you come once a week sends you photos and a checklist of what's being done at the house.....pm me for phone... Leaving your house for six months is taking a chance

[Cisco Kid]

U could pay me to live in for you.

I love it when a plan comes together.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Cisco Kid

U could pay me to live in for you.

I love it when a plan comes together.

From your picture, I'm guessing you don't do windows...

[graciegirl]

Leave a pair of old flip flops on the front stoop.

[Xavier]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Actually, there are things that really should be done on an ongoing basis such as running the dishwasher and washing machine at least once a month (every 2 weeks is better) to keep the seals from drying out. Also, a good homewatch person will have weekly eyes on things like bugs, leaks, dropped packages, malfunctioning sprinklers etc....etc...etc. Much better than walking away and leaving the home closed up.

Actually, my mower (sends pictures and emails) and the neighbors keep an eye on the outside for us. We didn't even have to ask them. We have a friend who walks through about twice a month or when she's playing a golf course close-by.

As far as the dishwasher and washing machine goes, I really doubt that the water that stays in the pumps will evaporate in anything less than 6 months (probably a year). Heck, our toilets didn't go down a quarter of an inch while we were gone for 5 months. [Did I mention that I put a few drops of Clorox in each toilet bowl before I cover them with saran wrap?] Anyway, we've never had a problem.

We do leave the fridge on. Last year we also let the spa run as well. it only runs one and a half hours twice a day. It was as clean and sparkly when we returned as when we left. Our same (walk-through) friend checks the water level and tablets. Only once in 5 months did she add a little water and it really wasn't necessary even then. The tablets didn't need replenishment at all. In fact I had to take some out of the feeder when we got home.

If it makes the home owner feel more secure and comfortable, by all means hire a house watch person. Most do an excellent job and everyone needs to make a living. Helps keep that economy going too. My theory is: Don't make it more complicated than it really is!

Xavier