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Going on vacation should be a totally stress-free experience, but you need to plan ahead if you’re going to achieve that. Your home still needs to be taken care of and your pets will still need to be fed.
At Day & Night Air, we recommend that you take the following steps to prepare your Phoenix area home ahead of your vacation.
Get rid of perishables.
Pretty much everyone has gone out of town for a week or two, only to come home to a stinky fridge because of an old box of leftovers.
Take out the trash.
For basically the same reason: The contents will begin to rot, and bugs love a bag full of old food.
Call the post office.
They’ll hold onto your mail while you’re away so your mailbox doesn’t end up stuffed.
Get routine home maintenance done.
This is a perfect time to have AC service or HVAC maintenance performed, either before or during your vacation.
Raise the temperature on your thermostat.
What temperature should you leave your vacant house in the summer? 85º-90ºF. With no one home, you don’t need to keep it as cool as when your family is at home and you’ll save energy and money by doing so.
Call your bank to tell them where you’ll be and when you’ll be there.
If you travel a thousand miles away without notifying them, their systems may flag any transactions you make with your cards as suspicious and could deactivate your cards to protect you from what looks like fraud.
Leave a couple lights on.
It’ll make your house look more lived-in and help deter burglars. Ask a neighbor to park in your driveway every now and then for the same reason.
Don’t forget your pets!
Have someone, either a friend or a professional, agree to take care of your pets, or if you cannot, then take them to a nice kennel while you’re away.
- Set your water heater to “vacation mode” if it has that function. This will save you energy and wear and tear on the heater.
- Close your water valves. This is the absolute worst time for your home to spring a leak. Don’t let it.
- Check your smoke detectors and burglar alarms.
- Give one of your friends or neighbors your contact info so they can reach out if there are any issues with your home.
Get Your Home Vacation Ready with Day & Night Air!
When you go on vacation, your home doesn’t stop working, and neither does your air conditioning system. With regular maintenance, your air conditioning system will be better prepared to keep your home cool all summer in the Valley’s hottest season. Contact the friendly professionals at Day & Night Air about one of our convenient maintenance plans.
