[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by K9-Lovers

Better yet, cut off the water supply to the house . . .

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!

[chuckinca]

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


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[Shirleevee]

Originally Posted by Tom Hannon

We received an electric bill of $58 for last month. The house was unoccupied during the billing period. The A/C was set at 80. Next time, I'll set it at 82? Also my friends who have been stopping over to check on the house also ran the dishwasher once. I guess electric is needed for the sprinkler system and of course the fans are running. We have no gas.in the house. I turned off the hot water heater. Is this bill reasonable? There are no appliances to unplug at this time.

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

[TommyT]

Originally Posted by chuckinca

Never heard of leaving the ceiling fans on - - -
Rationale please.
Thanks
.

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.

[Tom Hannon]

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.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Tom Hannon

Everyone should take notes on these suggestions and maybe we can all cut down on the electric bill.

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.

[Tom Hannon]

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.

[Snowbirdtobe]

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.

[red tail]

Originally Posted by Tom Hannon

Ceiling fans forces the cold air down which lowers the A/C bill. I run the A/C all the time. The only fan I turn off is the one in the lanai. If I am wrong with this assumption that fans LOWER the A/C bill please let me know.

hot air rises. i think youre wrong on this!

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Snowbirdtobe

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.

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).

[K9-Lovers]

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.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by K9-Lovers

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.

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

[chuckinca]

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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[Ajack]

Originally Posted by chuckinca

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.

[greg802]

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