Tips for home while gone awhile

Leave the doors under faucet cabinets open if on an outside wall. Still air gets colder. A major freeze could cause a pipe to burst.

Just to be clear: my earlier suggestion of "automatic" trickle charger assumes microprocessor control. We've used the same West Marine 30A portable charger since 1990.

People on the forum may not (probably not) know that.

I'm more concerned with our 10% ethanol gaso sitting in the the tank/fuel system than I am about the battery. I use fuel additive if my vehicle is going to be sitting for a while.

I do not worry for a month of so.

One of my cars, I put into storage for months at a time, especially over the winter.

All I do is hook up the Battery Tender. Been doing this for many years and no problems.

But if you worry, StarBrite StarTron is one of the best additives when it comes to neutralizing the affects of the ethanol.

I do not worry for a month of so.

 

One of my cars, I put into storage for months at a time, especially over the winter.

 

All I do is hook up the Battery Tender. Been doing this for many years and no problems.

 

But if you worry, StarBrite StarTron is one of the best additives when it comes to neutralizing the affects of the ethanol.

I've used StarBrite products before but didn't know about this one. Thanks for the tip!

A local small engine place turned me on to it. The alcohol destroys the carbs used on things like lawn mowers, chain saw, blower, trimmers, etc. They said once telling people to use this stuff, they have NO issues.

Wow!

Thanks for all the great tips. It is appreciated and will consider them all.

We reduce our automobile insurance to fire and theft only. We take the battery out of our summer car since it sits for nine month.

Good idea, I have two cars in "storage" for most of the year. GREATLY reduces the insurance bill. For my insurance company, you need to have it off the road for a minimum of 6 weeks.

With many modern cars, it is not a good idea to remove the battery, as there are a number of memory things that will be lost. That is why a Battery Tender or Battery Minder is the better solution.

In my city of around a little less than 100,000, we sign up on line with the local police department to have our house watched. We say how long we'll be gone and what type of car may be in the driveway, whether there is an alarm, etc. Nice service.

Perhaps see if your local law enforcement does that.

In my city of around a little less than 100,000, we sign up on line with the local police department to have our house watched. We say how long we'll be gone and what type of car may be in the driveway, whether there is an alarm, etc. Nice service.

 

Perhaps see if your local law enforcement does that.

Called our Village who had me contact our county sheriff and they will also do a house check while gone. Just let them know the time frame, names of those who may enter house, and what light patterns are with timers. Very nice.

Wasn’t really sure where to place this question. We will be gone a total of 5 weeks for our next Princess Cruise November -December. We live in Wisconsin and of course the worry is with sub zero winter weather.

Can I get tips from those who have been away from home for weeks as far as what to do with the house. I plan on keeping the heat on hold at 60. Our neighbor will check now and then on it. Is it wise to turn off the main water and lower water heater to lowest setting?

Any tips sure help...

When you turn off the water be sure to drain the pipes so there is no damage.

Lower water heater to Vacation Mode.

Do have your neighbor walk the house as you suggested.

Open cabinets for sinks that are on an outside wall.

Decide what you want to do on the car. If you don't have it run the battery might not last until you get back. You could have the neighbor run the car a couple of times while you are away.

Keith

Definitely turn off the water. My in-laws came home to a real mess when their hot water heater sprung a leak. Damage from that, a high water bill and a high gas bill since the heater ran continuously.

I second the suggestion on cameras. We can check our house via the internet from any place in the world.

What kind camera systems do you like for your homes?

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I second the suggestion on cameras. We can check our house via the internet from any place in the world.

And what are you going to do about what you might see?????

Forgot to mention....we never travel with expensive jeweelry or watches. Indeed, I have a watch that I only wear for travel. We take any jewelry items that are of value to us and place them in our bank safety deposit box for safekeeping. We do the same with important papers or currency.

Place a coin on top of an ice cube, or paper cup with frozen water, in your freezer. When you return home and the coin has fallen to the bottom of the cube/ice, it means your freezer has been at a temperature making all of your frozen food dangerous to eat.

 

Enjoy your cruise planning.

Ya learn something new every day! Great tip.

And what are you going to do about what you might see?????

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Most of our trips are in the 3 or 4 month range so this is something we deal with.

We are in semi tropical climate, so don't have your weather related issues, we just have different weather related issues.

We have a house sitter come 3 times a week in hot weather, 2 times a week in "winter". She keeps the water up in the pool, gets the mail, does walk through of house, turns on faucets and flushes toilets once a week. Rotates lights, which I can also do on my ADT app. Turning water off isn't an option for us. The sprinkler system has to run and the pool has to have water. If it's most of the year I leave the AC thermostat on 75, if it is "winter" I leave it on 68.