Tips for closing up a house for a few months?

In My Humble Opinion
1

As part of my impending move to Hawaii, I recently took delivery of our belongings from storage, and set up our house on the Big Island. However, soon I’ll be back in Indonesia for about 3 months, so I need to prepare it to be empty for a while. Does anyone have any tips, or suggestions for things I need to remember? FWIW, we’ll leave electrical and internet service on, and we don’t have phone service. We have a regular yard service that continues in our absence and the property manager is supposed to check the place once a month. Obviously heating is not an issue in Hawaii. Humidity and gecko poop are, though!

Here’s what I have on my list:

  • Mark which propane tank is the one currently in use. Then shut off both tanks.
  • Put the couch futons down flat.
  • Turn on the security cameras.
  • Turn off the media server.
  • Put sheets over everything.
  • Close window slats.
  • Turn drinking glasses upside down.
  • Empty fridge.
  • Bring windchimes in.

I also wash the car, fill the tank, and disconnect its car battery before I store it.

More? Thanks in advance.

2

Just before leaving, run water in the sinks, then pour a very small amount of oil in. This will help keep the water in the trap from evaporating and allowing sewer gas to back up into the house.

Shut off the water to your taps and toilet. Most water leaks come from the failure of the small flexible connection from the water pipe to the faucet/toilet.

Turn your water heater to ‘vacation’ if it has that setting, or just shut it off.

3

Years ago I saw an infomercial for a “fake TV”. It was a small box with some LEDs that would blink and flash through a lens and make a light pattern fill a room so it would look like a TV. It actually looked like a really good idea.
You might look into something like that, on a timer, to come at some kind of random-ish, time every night for a few hours. Maybe one or two lamps on timers to come on at night for a few hours and again in the morning for a little while. Just to hopefully keep anyone from noticing that you’re not around for months.
If you’re on really good terms with any next door neighbors, ask them to park in your driveway, that would be the best deterrent. I recall reading (though I have no idea if it’s true), that of all things, a car in the drive way would make a would be robber go to another house.

Other stuff? I’m not sure. If you empty the fridge (and freezer), I’d unplug it and prop the doors open. Unplug anything else that doesn’t need to be using electricity. Clocks, stove, microwave etc.
Turn off the water heater. Turn off the water. Actually, that’s a big one, turn off the water. Even a small leak will be a big issue if it goes for months.
Probably more but that’s what I got right now.

Again, I’d shut the water off.
ETA, if you shut the water off, make sure you shut off the water heater. I don’t know your setup, but if you do spring a leak and the water system drains, you’ll run the risk of wrecking your water heater if there’s nothing in it.

4

Make sure your insurance is valid if there’s no one there for months.

5

That’s what I was going to suggest. Having your yard guy look in once a month seems a bit chancy. Find out exactly what your insurance policy requires. Have the person checking the house keep a log of dates they checked it.

6

If you’re going to have electricity and Internet have you considered putting any cameras inside or outside the house? There’s so many available, and you can pull up a feed right on your phone.

7

If you have any valuable stuff you might consider storing it in a more secure storage place.

Have you considered renting the house out while you are gone?

8

Well, okay. I will stay at your place while you are away, no charge. That’s the best way to ensure no water leaks, gecko poop, or break-ins. :smiley:

In all seriousness, either shut off the water supply to the house, or go around to ALL water-related appliances (as stated, the flexible water feeds are a weakness): toilets, faucets, fridge (for ice supply?), clothes washer. A water leak will be expensive. With the water heater, if electric, shut off power to that as well.

Anything you can do to make the place look lived-in is good. I like the idea of having a neighbor use your driveway. Also, ask that neighbor to push your trash can(s) out and back in on garbage day - thieves will look for either the odd-ball house that never puts out the can, or the one where it never gets pushed back in the same time as all the others. If there is a chance of a community newspaper getting tossed onto your yard or porch, have someone pick them up, along with anything a salesman may stick into your door frame or leave on your porch - those things piling-up is another sign no one’s home.

Here is another tip: if you have a garage door opener, unplug it. And if it comes with a handle (emergency release), remove that - thieves can pull the release handle from the outside (if there is a window on the top of the door to break thru), manually open the door, then drive a car into your garage and park, close the door, and load-up at a leisurely pace, unobserved.

Lights on timers is also a good idea, as is someone just generally looking after the place. If you have a yard, you can hire someone to pick-up leaves, mow the lawn, etc. so the place looks kept-up while you are away and not abandoned.

I guess it would just be easier to have me stay there! :slight_smile:

9

Yep. Turn off the water. Not sure if you have a main accessible water shut off. That’s the easiest way. We are on a well, so I just power that down, and shut off a main valve from the pressure tank to the house. Worse that can happen is the pressure tank would ‘flood’ our laundry room.

Now this is extreme, but put out a few dog food/water bowls on your deck. Looks like you may be home and might have dogs. Just an odd thought.

Hmmm… If your are worried about theft…

If you cover everything with sheets, and people can see in, it will be obvious that no one is home.

I don’t think I would completely close all window slats. But I know nothing about Hawaii. Gonna make it look like no one is home though I would think. Can you just set them so it’s hard to look in?

Would leaving the wind chimes out make it look more lived in? Perhaps your are worried they could be damaged by a storm.

Can’t remember the last time I locked the doors to my house, so I’m talking through my hat a little bit.

10

I’m not a big fan of removing the sting*, but there’s probably a dozen different ways to stop people from being able to grab that cord the outside. Personally I don’t like the zip tie one either. I’d worry about not being able to use it when I want/need to. I attached a piece of sheet metal to the arm that connects the trolley to the door. It’s not pretty but it works just fine. I also put up a metal grate over the window on the ‘regular’ door and frosted it as well so you can’t see if there’s a car in the garage.

While home security is all well and good, I try not to go too over board on it. I mean, what I did will keep someone from breaking the window or reaching in and grabbing the cord, but a sawzall will cut a hole in the side of a house big enough for a person to get though in a minute or two. I know, a robber probably won’t do that, but it’s really easy.

*On another note I DO advocate tying the string up higher or removing the plastic handle on the end if you have an SUV. My brother pulled the garage door down on my dad’s truck because of that. It smashed out the back window. When my dad took it in to get it fixed they said with all these tall cars nowadays (this was about 20 years ago), they’ve been seeing a lot it. The pull cords either get closed in doors or wrapped around roof racks, then you back out and the garage door releases and lowers just in time to take out a window.

11

Make sure there is no standing water anywhere. Pour boric acid down the drains and in toilets. Your cockroaches will be gone in three weeks.

12

Just returned from a ten wk absence from my house, but my house was being snowed on, so kinda different kettle of fish.

But the cleverest thing I did was to save the last grocery list I had before leaving. After ten weeks away, and returning to a completely empty fridge/larder, remembering what I always buy can be problematic. I haven’t shopped or cooked a meal in all that time, and now I can’t really remember much, just off the top of my head. Wandering the grocery store trying to remember will take a lot of time and make hubby a little nutso!

Having that grocery list made life really easy. It was quick and easy and didn’t strain my brain a bit.

Just a suggestion, Good Luck!

13

another vote for turning off ALL the water supply. At the water meter.
Make sure there is NO supply of water to the house. If something does start to leak, it will stop after a few minutes when the pipe runs dry.

14

I came in to say this as well, so I’m thirding it. Make sure you call your company and see if there’s anything you need to do (other than pay more in premium - vacant houses are more expensive to insure). Maybe they can lower your personal belongings coverage. You can also lower your liability coverages on your car, since you won’t be driving it during that period (though they may require you to garage it off-site to do that).

15

Thanks for all the tips, everyone.

Chefguy, are you saying I should pour oil down all the sink drains? How much is “a very small amount”? A quarter teaspoon? A quarter cup?

If it matters, we have a cesspool (yuck), not a connection to a municipal sewage system.

elbows, your tip reminded me that I should be sure the food stocks in the house make it possible to tumble into the house at any time of day or night and fix some kind of meal, even if it isn’t gourmet, as the house is a long way from the grocery store. (I posed a question in Cafe Society a year or two ago asking for ideas for what to keep on hand in such a situation - there were some good thoughts, I’ll have to check out the answers again.)

.

16

Maybe you’ve already thought about this and dismissed the idea for some reason, but I would seriously consider putting it on AirBnB while you’re away. Get a little income from it and not have to worry about it being unoccupied.

17

Just found that thread - posting the link here for my own convenience and that of anyone else who might be reading this thread because they are in a similar situation: Suggest a "buy now, eat in 4 months" meal - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board

18

Old, stale gasoline can cause problems. I think it may be better to add a gasoline stabilizer (like Sta-Bil) and leave the tank near empty, then fill it with fresh gas when you get back.

19

If you have neighbors you can trust, have them occasionally empty out your mailbox of junkmail and whatever else may accumulate there. If you really trust them and you have a back door, give them the key and have them go through the house and open the front door to clean out the mailbox to make it look like they are the residents.

20

Just enough to create a surface coat. Maybe a teaspoon or two.

Another thought: I’d unplug your lamps and other non-critical items. The common fail point for electrical is extension cords and appliance/lamp cords. If you’re going to leave a lamp or two on a timer, that’s fine, but inspect the cords for any wear or damage.