Getting away during January and February is traditionally known as a Winter Holiday, though people tend to go to places as un-winter as possible!  If travel during the winter months is on your agenda, here’s some ideas on keeping your home safe while you’re away:

Programmable Locks: Entering a code on a keypad is much easier for whomever is watching your home awhile you’re away than having to deal with (and possible lose!) door keys. These also benefit everyone in your family the rest of the year.

Light & Appliance Timers: Random patterns of light and noise are typical when we’re home, so replicate that while gone. Along with motion detector lights on the exterior of the home, use timers that operate exterior and interior lights at different times each day. Sound is just as important so set up a timer to operate a radio or television at random times each day.

Programmable Thermostat:  To avoid frozen pipes, you do have to keep your home heated while it’s vacant, and installing a programmable thermostat makes it easy to set this pattern: 55F degrees during daylight hours, switching to 65F degrees after the sun sets.

Home Automation System: All of the above functions can be taken care of in one place by investing in a home automation system. While at home, one screen coordinates lights, locks and heating. While you’re away, you can monitor and change all of these settings via a smart phone or laptop.

Hold All Deliveries: Newspapers on the lawn or mail spilling out of the mailbox are clear signs no one is home. Make arrangements to suspend all deliveries to your home while you’re away.

Snow Shoveling: A pristine, snow-covered yard is beautiful to look at, but is also an indication that not a soul is home. Make arrangements for someone to automatically clear and salt your driveway and walks in case of snow or ice while you’re on vacation.

Click for a free pdf brochure of other tips and ideas for having a productive and enjoyable winter. And if you need any remodeling or repair help to keep your home safe while you’re on a winter vacation, call the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact them here.

 

Related posts:

1. Prep Your Home for Summer Vacation Away
2. How Safe is YOUR Deck?
3. Is Your Deck Safe To Use?
4. KMOX Tip: Summer Vacation House Tips

Learn the Art of Living at CallMosby.com.

Tags: homeautomation system, programmable thermostat, vacant house in winter

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 3:24 pm and is filed under repairs & advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.