Do you do anything special to your house when you go on vacation?

Question

we're going to be away for a week and a half. besides putting on timers, locking up and setting the alarm what else should i be doing? i've heard that some turn their water heaters to a "vacation mode," or should i shut the water main off? are there any downsides to us turning off our water... or putting the water heater on vacation mode?

Answer 1

you can turn off the breaker(electric) to the water heater,be sure you turn off the water going to the dishwasher,and the washing machine,or just turn off the water(but turn off the water heater)............tom

Answer 2

place an air refresher in every room in the house. you know one of them automatic ones that realise the fragrence every hour?

i hate that muggy, dusty smell in the house after coming back from vacation. simply because no fresh has been let into the house. this way, it smells well coming and fresh, just the same as the day you left it :)

Answer 3

Turning off the water to the house is a good idea.  If a clothes washer or dishwasher hose bursts, it won't flood the house.  That happened to some friends of mine and the damage to their very expensive house was considerable and they lived in a motel for weeks while it was being repaired.

You can save a little money by turning down the water heater thermostat.  I often just flip the circuit breaker and turn the heater off completely.  If you have an ice maker, turn it off, too.

Turn the heat/ac thermostat setting so you don't waste a lot of energy heating or cooling space when you are gone. Of course, make sure mail and newspaper delivery is either stopped or handled by a neighbor.

Answer 4

Turn water off is a good idea and unplug big appliances.

Answer 5

i always go around and unplug major electronics in case theres an electrical storm.  then i turn off the water supply to the washer (the supply hose only seems to fail when youre away from home).  

those are the major things. but i imagine you could probably put the water heater on a standby mode.  it should conserve energy while youre gone

Answer 6

Unplug everything that does not have to be plugged in.  Everything with a power light or clock, or that is instant on,  is using electricity.  If you turn off the hot water heater, no nice hot showers when you get home or for those hours it will take it to warm up again.    You have to decide that one.  Remember to stop the mail & newspaper.  Call and let the police know that noone will be there & ask if they can keep an eye out for you.  The ones here are willing to do this for us.