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Vistancia Home Watching › Summer prep checklist
An empty house in a Phoenix-area summer faces heat, monsoon storms and months of nobody noticing small problems. A couple of hours before you leave takes care of most of it.
Don't turn the air conditioning off. With nobody home, a closed-up house in July can get far hotter inside than you'd guess, and that heat is hard on the house and everything in it. Most people set the thermostat somewhere in the low to mid 80s while they're away.
Replace the air filter before you go, and have the system serviced in spring if it's due. An AC that fails in August with nobody home can go days before anyone notices.
Water does more damage to an empty house than anything else, so reduce the ways it can escape. Turn off the supply valves to the washing machine, and set the water heater to its vacation setting if it has one.
Some people shut off the main water valve entirely. Before you do, check whether your irrigation runs off the same supply. In many homes here it does, and shutting the main off would leave your landscaping without water all summer.
Turn off the ice maker, empty the fridge of anything that will spoil, and run the garbage disposal with some water one last time. Leave the dishwasher door cracked open so it can dry out. Turn off the supply valves to the washing machine, and if you have a reverse osmosis system, turn off its feed valve.
Set the water softener to bypass while you're gone, unless you've arranged for someone to keep an eye on it and refill the salt.
In dry summer heat, the water sitting in drain traps and toilets evaporates, and when a trap dries out, sewer gas can come up into the house. Flush every toilet and run water in every sink and shower before you leave. On every one of our visits we run the water and flush the toilets, which keeps the traps full.
Close the blinds and drapes on sun-facing windows to cut the heat, unplug electronics you won't need, and test the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors so a low-battery chirp doesn't go on for months.
Plants need far more water in July than in March. Update the controller to a summer schedule, run each zone once to make sure it comes on, and walk the drip lines for broken or missing emitters before you leave.
Clear out anything that will spoil. Monsoon storms can knock the power out, and a freezer that thaws and refreezes while you're away is a mess you don't want to come home to. If you keep the fridge running, leave it mostly empty.
Heat is hard on car batteries, and a car that sits for months can come back dead. A battery maintainer (a trickle charger) plugged in in the garage keeps it topped up. If you don't have one, ask a mechanic about disconnecting the battery, and keep the car in the garage out of the sun.
Keep your regular pest control going while you're away, including termite inspections. Termite activity picks up around monsoon season, and an empty house gives them months to work.
Hold your mail with the post office or have someone collect it; an overflowing mailbox tells everyone the house is empty. Put a few lights on timers, let your alarm company know you'll be away, and give your home watcher a key, the alarm details and a list of any contractors you trust. In a gated community, add them to the visitor list. Bring the trash and recycling bins in, and unplug or lock the garage door opener while you're away.
Bring in or tie down patio furniture, cushions and umbrellas, and close up any shade sails. Monsoon wind can throw loose furniture into windows and pools. Clear anything off the roof and out of the drainage paths around the house.
Many homeowner policies have rules about homes left unoccupied for long stretches. Call your agent before you go and ask what they expect, including how often the home should be checked, so a claim doesn't turn into an argument.
Leave it on. Most people choose somewhere in the low to mid 80s while the house is empty; off entirely lets the inside of a closed-up house get very hot, which is hard on the home and its contents.
It limits damage from a leak, but check first whether your irrigation is fed from the same supply. In many homes here it is, and shutting the main would leave your landscaping dry all summer.
Weekly suits most homes that sit empty for the season. Your insurance company may have its own expectations, so ask them before you leave.
We live in Vistancia and check homes here all summer. Tell Sage when you leave and what your home needs, any hour.
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