Closing a Gulf Coast home for the summer is not like locking a cottage up north. The heat and humidity keep working on the house the whole time you are away, and summer is also the heart of hurricane season. A careful close-up is the difference between coming home to a fresh house and coming home to a project.
Use this list with your own providers’ advice — your air-conditioning, plumbing and pool professionals know your systems best.
Air and humidity
- Leave the air conditioning running. Agree a summer setting with your air-conditioning provider that keeps indoor humidity below 60 percent
- Have the system serviced and the filter changed before you leave
- Open interior doors, closets and cabinet doors a little so air can move
- If you use a dehumidifier, make sure it drains on its own
Water
- Ask your plumber whether to shut off the main water supply or the water heater while you are away, and label the valves
- If irrigation needs water while the main is off, have it set up to run separately
- Run the dishwasher and washing machine empty, and leave their doors slightly open to dry
- Check under every sink for slow leaks before you go
Kitchen
- Empty the refrigerator and freezer of anything that could spoil in a power cut
- If you switch the refrigerator off, clean it and prop the doors open
- Run the disposal with water, and take every bin out to be emptied
Outside and the pool
- Confirm schedules with your pool, landscape and pest-control providers
- Decide your storm plan: what comes inside, and who closes or installs the shutters
- Trim branches near the roof and clear gutters, through your landscape or roofing provider
Vehicles and golf carts
- Connect a battery maintainer, or arrange for the engine to be started
- Check tyre pressures, and leave the vehicle clean inside to discourage pests
Paperwork and people
- Forward or hold your mail
- Tell your insurance agent you will be away, and ask about any vacancy or unoccupancy conditions
- Let your community association know your dates and who has access
- Leave keys, codes and a backup contact with the person caring for the house, signed for in writing
- Unplug electronics you will not need, and leave a few lights on timers
A Haven Free close-up covers this list with you, room by room, and writes it into your home record so next year’s departure is simply a matter of saying when.
Haven Free keeps homes in Sarasota and Manatee Counties by membership — watched while you are away, cared for while you are here. See the memberships ›