Easy Ways to Prevent Home Water Damage While on Vacation
Vacation
season is here! Wherever your adventures are taking you, make sure your home is
ready for your trip, too. Coming home to water damage is a stressful way to end
a vacation. Fortunately, many companies provide 24-hour water damage repair in
Smyrna. There are also some simple things you can do to protect your home while
you’re away.
Don’t Turn off the HVAC
It’s
fine to adjust the thermostat so that your home stays a consistent temperature
while you’re away, but don’t turn off the heat completely. If your house gets
cold enough, your pipes could freeze and burst.
Give Your Refrigerator a Vacation, Too
If
your refrigerator has a button inside that says “vacation mode”, use it. Your
refrigerator is always working to keep the temperature inside of it consistent
while accounting for the fact that the door is constantly being opened and
closed. While you are away, the door will remain closed and the air inside will
get very cold. Vacation mode tells your refrigerator that it doesn’t need to
work so hard. This is especially important if you have a water filter inside
your fridge. If the air temperature inside gets cold enough, your water filter
could freeze and burst, resulting in a big mess. Using vacation mode will
prevent that from happening.
Shut Off the Water
The
best way to prevent water damage while you’re on vacation is to shut off the
water to your home altogether. This is easy and covers a multitude of potential
problems. If a hose or connection does break, the only water that gets out will
be what’s left in the line.
Finding
your main water shutoff is easy. It’s usually located near your utilities,
often in the basement of your home. Once you find it, a simple twist of the
knob or turn of the handle should do it.
Check Your Sump Pump
Your
home could also flood from heavy rain while you’re away. Take a minute to check
your sump pump by dumping water down inside the basket. When it’s full, the
pump should automatically empty it. If not, get it fixed before you leave.
Despite
your best efforts, things happen. If you do come home to a mess, call a company
that does 24-hour water damage repair in Smyrna.
A professional can come out right away and help you with everything from
cleanup to making an insurance claim.
Comments