We like to keep our gas and water hooked up in case I make an unplanned trip to The Villages.

The bowls of coffee are peace offerings to the gods to keep our property safe from bugs and gators. As Bill said, the coffee attracts odours and seems to keep the house smelling fresh. And I've never seen any insects anywhere near the coffee.

Before we return to The Villages after a long absence, I always call my cleaning company to do a thorough cleaning before we arrive. It's nice to return to a sparkling house. And we ask our Village Watchdog company to turn on the fridge and charge up the golf cart.

We'll be arriving in two weeks and this Snowbird can't wait! :girlneener:

You're very lucky Bare - we can't leave until mid January (chit).


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Same scenario, ours was $68.90, we think it was the very hot weather.

To keep the air moving.. I worry about mold and mildew and think if the air is moving, it might not have the ability to grow.

Thank you, Tommy T. I was beginning to think I was the only one who thought that. I am new at having two houses. I don't know what to think and this is the reason for my post. I received some great info from everyone - which should help me the next time I shut down for a few months. Everyone should take notes on these suggestions and maybe we can all cut down on the electric bill.
Maybe people like Shirlee ($68.90) can shave a few bucks off her bill next time around.

The best investment we've made is a humidistat. It's already saved us hundreds of dollars over three summers, if not thousands.

Also, a Housewatch Company is an excellent idea for seasonal residents. (We use Village Watchdogs). They will suggest a bunch of clever things to do to protect your appliances, avoid mold and mildew, keep snakes out of your drains, and save money. They'll check on your house as often (or as little) as you require. And they'll send you pictures of any problems that occur.

A Humidstat is on the menu.

Snakes out of the drain???? EWWWWW! Tell me more about that wonderful experience. I don't like what I hear.

Go around your house and unplug all the wall mounted transformers for cell phones, Internet routers, etc.
If it feels warm when not in use you pay twice. Once to heat it up and once to cool it down.
When we are away we unplug cable tvboxes, tv sets and the electric cart charger.

hot air rises. i think youre wrong on this!

We also unplug all wall mounted transformers, weather radio, cable boxes, TV sets, etc.

We do not unplug our electric golf cart charger. Our Housewatch Company keeps it charged for us. Our type of golf cart needs to be charged most of the time to protect the battery (I called the mechanics to ascertain this).

Cutting off the water supply to a vacant home prevents flooding which can occur due to a busted or poorly connected waterhose to the fridge, or to a leaky hot water heater. We used to own rental homes and learned about this the hard way. However, do not drain your hot water heater as the coils sometimes break when the heater is being refilled.

Wouldn't cutting off the water supply to a house mean that the irrigation system doesn't work? Just askin.

It's usually valved so that you can shut of the house supply while leaving the irrigation supply on.

Or, the irrigation recycled sewage water is completely separate from the potable water.

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OMG I am renting a patio villa for a couple of weeks and I went out to my lanai and caught this foul odor. I then saw that the neighbor had his sprinkler on. I hope that water is safer then it smells.:22yikes:

Does anyone use damprid at all to remove moisture , the coffee idea sounds great never heard of it.