What to Do
 

I am considering buying this year....I am going to be a snow bird for awhile until I finally decide to quit working....Until then I was considering what has to be done to button the house up while unused....My parents used to shut everything off and set charcoal in every room and set a bowl of charcoal in the open refridg. They never had a problem with mold or anything else. I have read on here that you need to leave the air circulater on or a ceiling fan....Does one also leave the electric on or have it shut off ....Any help will be appreciated...

Thanks:

Skip & Sue
Indiana

We just do a few things when we shut down the house for an extended period of time. 1. I turn off the fuse to the hot water heater. 2. I shut the main water supply. 3.We have a humidistat, so I set that per instructions. 4. I make sure all blinds are closed to keep the sun out. 5. I open closets to help with air circulation.
We do not leave ceiling fans on. We were told by our hvac people that it could be a fire hazard leaving them on for very long periods.

There are quite a few steps for leaving the house un-occupieed for an extended period. I would strongly suggest engaging one of the house-sitting contractors, a couple of which are members of this board(Redwitch comes to mind). Whoever you contact can give some excellent guidance for all you need to do based on real experience.

Not having a humidistat yet, we follow the instructions to leave the air conditioner set at 83. (The bills are really low). We turn off the water, pull the blinds and open the closets, (both our walk-ins have air conditioner vents.)

We have a neighbor who covers upholstered furniture with sheets and opens her kitchen cupboards. We leave the refrigerator closed after cleaning it out and make sure that cereals and other ingredients in the pantry are discarded or closed in airtight containers. Some people ask their house sitter to flush the toilets and run the dishwasher. (We don't see the need for that) and it would not be possible since we shut off the water.

Last winter we had to be away and we had left the air on set at 83. We had to see that the heat was turned on and the sprinklers turned off when temperatures dropped below freezing for an extended period. (Who woulda thunk it?)

Some people have their golf cart taken out for a spin. We have had to jump the battery on our gas cart twice on our return.

Someone else will tell you what I have forgotten. Some people use a service, others pay a trusted neighbor and some folks have family members to check things out.

We also unplug the microwave, televisions and cable box.
We enable the switch on the garage door opener that locks it.
The dishwasher is left open as well as the clothes washer.
The dehumidstat is a good idea. I'll be installing one soon.
We also use a house-sitter who checks our home weekly. (worth his weight in gold!)
PM me if you'd like a referral.

We turn the appliances off at the circuit breaker box and turn the hot water heater down to the lowest setting.