Securing Your Home Before Vacation

If you’re finally taking that vacation you’ve been dreaming of, the last thing you want after a great week of travel is to come home to a flooded basement or a ransacked house. That’s why it’s so important to properly secure your home before you leave for vacation. Here are some quick and easy things you can do to secure your home before you leave, so your week can end as great as it started!

Securing the Inside of the Home

Take precautions to avoid your pipes freezing

Frozen pipes are one of the leading causes of property damage and flooding, but this is typically an issue that can easily be avoided.

When you leave for vacation, leave your heat on low in order to prevent your pipes from freezing. It may be tempting to turn it off completely to save a couple dollars, but if your pipes freeze and crack you’ll be spending those couple dollars and a whole lot more – as well as coming home to a huge headache!

Really, the best advice is to always turn off the water supply to the home before you leave. At least then if you do have an unexpected break, the amount of water to the home is limited, and so too will be the extent of any damage.

Check your sump pump is working before you leave

That way, if your home is hit with a storm while you’re gone, you can rest assured the sump pump is working away to prevent your basement from taking on any water. Ensuring your sump pump works before leaving only takes a couple minutes and is quite simple to do. Learn how to check if your sump pumps is working here: https://www.puroclean.ca/blog/how-check-if-sump-pump-working/.

Lock up your house before you leave

Although it’s common sense to lock all the doors before you leave, locking your windows can sometimes be overlooked. Make sure you lock them all to avoid giving burglars easy access to your home. Additionally, you can invest in a door security bar for any sliding doors in your home. These are usually only $20 to $50 dollars, and can acts as extra reinforcement to stop a would-be intruder from being able to open your door.

Securing the Outside of the Home

Deter Potential Theft

Burglars are more likely to steal from dark areas where onlookers can’t see them. By leaving a light on outside, you’re deterring potential intruders as well as making it more probable they will be seen in the event they do make a break-in attempt. Additionally, bring in any spare keys you may keep outside before you leave. We all assume we’re being subtle when picking up the fake rock in the garden and removing the hidden key. However, there’s a chance someone’s seen you grab that key at some point. Get smart and don’t give a crook the key to enter your home!

Clear storm drains and gutters

The purpose of gutters and storm drains is to help water flow away from your house in order to decrease the chances of flooding. If you don’t regularly empty your gutters and storm drains, they can become clogged with fallen leave and branches, impacting their efficacy in moving the water through and away from your home. Cleaning out your storm gutters and drains before vacation will help the water flow better if there’s a high amount of precipitation while you’re away.

Eliminate signs you’re not home by having someone maintain your house

This could simply be a neighbour or family member who comes to shovel snow, or cut your lawn while you’re away. Although it may not seem important, if you’re gone for a week and your driveway is filled in with snow, that’s a telltale sign you’re not home.

Double-check you locked your vehicle

Make sure your car is locked to avoid thieves from getting in and stealing any belongings you’ve left inside – or the car itself – while you’re away. Standard auto insurance does not cover personal contents stolen from inside your car. It’s always best to remove any expensive items, such as GPS’s, and bring them into the house as an additional precaution.

If you’re going away on vacation for longer than 3 days – especially during the winter season when the mercury drops below zero – make sure you have someone you trust coming to check on your house daily while you’re gone. This may be required in order to file certain types of home insurance claims during or after a vacation.

Get a home insurance quote here, or talk to an Excalibur Defender at 1-888-298-7343.