We recently talked about preparing your vehicle for a road trip.  Before you leave, though, you’ll also want to prepare your home for your family vacation. When you leave your home empty, you’re opening it up to various possibilities of what might happen while you’re gone, and most of them are not good!  Here are 3 ways that you can help protect your home before you go on vacation:

• Protect your home from burglary

  Before you go, make sure that you take the steps necessary to make it look like someone is occupying the house.  A home that is obviously empty is an invitation for those with bad intentions to snoop around and see if they can get in.  Reduce the risk of a burglary by setting up a few timers to keep lights turning on and off as though you were home; setting up an arrangement with the post office or with a neighbor to hold or collect your mail (and don’t forget about packages that might arrive during the holiday season!); and turning off your phone’s ringer so that an endlessly ringing phone doesn’t attract the attention of a prowler in the neighborhood.  Also, have a neighbor or close friend stop by as necessary to shovel snow, blow leaves out of the front entryway and bring the garbage and recycling bins to the curb and back.  All of these will make it look as though someone is home.

• Protect your home from frozen pipes

  If you live in a cold climate, you probably know all about the potential for frozen pipes.  These can create a terrible mess, and can lead to property damage and a huge water bill!  First, while you’ll want to turn down your thermostat to save electricity and fuel, don’t go too low.  Setting the temperature at 55 or 60 degrees will go far in preventing frozen pipes. Secondly, make sure that all of your pipes are well-insulated.  Caulk any air leaks leading into the house that might chill the pipes too much. Open the cabinets under your sinks so warm air can circulate around the pipes. You might consider leaving the sinks and showers dripping slightly, as moving water will resist freezing longer.  Another option is to turn off the water supply to the house and drain the pipes.  This should only be necessary if it gets extremely cold and your pipes are not well-insulated, or if you will be gone for a very long time.  Again, a neighbor or friend stopping in periodically can keep an eye on things, including the weather forecast, for you.

• Protect your home from fire

  House fires can occur while you are away, so it’s important to be aware of the risks and take steps to mitigate them.  In addition to following our tips for fire safety in the garage, you will want to be sure to unplug any holiday lights that you have set up, make sure that any embers in the fireplace or woodburning stove are completely extinguished, and double check that all optional appliances (such as the toaster and the hair curling iron) are unplugged.

It would be terrible to return home from vacation and see that something has happened to your home while you were away. Take these simple steps to reduce the risks of theft, flood damage and fire before you leave on your trip.

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