Regardless of a long-term trip or a short-term vacation, we focus completely on the destination with the excitement of the journey. However, in order to find the house we left behind safely when we return, final checks at home before traveling can be lifesaving. If no one will be staying at home, I recommend that you do these checks before you set off. Thus, you can focus on your travel comfortably and do not have to think about the house.
Let's take a look at the list of final checks to be done at home before traveling!
1. Leave the House Tidy and Clean
Although cleaning before you go on vacation may not sound like a very attractive activity, it will be very good for you to find a clean house on your return. You will not have to deal with cleaning on top of road fatigue. If your trip will take a long time, it will be useful to cover your furniture, such as sofas, that can collect dust.
Another and important benefit of cleaning the house before going on vacation is; You will prevent the pests that will take advantage of the house being dirty while you are away from invading the house.
Another reason for me to tidy the house when I go on a trip is that if something negative happens to us on the way and we have to rush back home, the house is tidy in case there are situations that require people other than those living in the house to enter the house.
2. Don't Leave Trash at Home
As part of the cleaning in the house, it is necessary not to leave garbage in the house. Garbage waiting for a long time will rot and cause the house to smell bad. It may take longer than you think to get rid of this smell. In addition, the garbage left in the kitchen allows the pests to feast. Insects such as flies and insects may invade your home until you return. To avoid both, make sure you throw away all the garbage bags in the house when you leave the house.
3. Don't Leave Anything Perishable in the Refrigerator
If you're going on a vacation for a few days, that's fine, but if you're going on a trip for a week, 10 days or longer, I recommend emptying your fridge as much as possible. Especially since perishable products such as fruits and vegetables can deteriorate in a short time, you may experience problems such as bacterial growth and mold growth. It would be a good solution to move suitable foods to the freezer section of the cabinet.
4. Close the Blinds, If Any
Especially if you are going on vacation in the summer months, it is very useful to put blinds on your windows and close them. If you have items close to the window and exposed to intense sun, their colors may fade or even burn if they are exposed to direct sunlight for too long. The sun visor easily eliminates all these fading/burning problems.
5. Unplug Electronics
Even if you do not use electronic products such as televisions, washing machines, ovens, small household appliances, computers, televisions, they consume a little energy. If you are going to leave the house for a long time, you will save energy if you unplug your electronic devices.
In addition, your electronic equipment may be damaged due to sudden voltage changes, electrical leakage or malfunctions while you are not at home. These situations, which you can intervene immediately even if you are at home, can cause problems up to fire when you are not at home. By unplugging these products, you eliminate the risks.
Of course, there are exceptions to this situation; Do not unplug appliances such as refrigerators and freezers so that the products left inside will have a long life.
6. Close Natural Gas Switch
One of the things you should definitely turn off while traveling is the natural gas combi boiler. It is vital that you both turn the boiler off, cut off its electricity and turn the natural gas valve completely off. Unfortunately, a problem such as a gas leak when the owner is not at home can have serious consequences.
7. Shut Off the Water at the Valve
Did you know that the most common home accidents are the problems caused by the plumbing? In order to avoid any surprises or to minimize this risk when you return from your vacation due to problems such as flooding, overflow, and water leakage, be sure to turn off all water valves before you set off, and check all valves if there are valves from different parts of the house.
Years ago, when I was living with my family, when we went on vacation, our neighbors called and informed us that there was water under our door. When we came back from vacation, we found that the whole house was flooded due to a burst water valve. The whole house had taken days to clean and dry. However, if we had closed that valve, none of this would have happened.
8. Adjust the Water of Herbs
If you have flowers and plants at home, it would be best to do one last watering before leaving the house for short trips. However, if you have a longer travel plan, alternative solutions may be to fill the pot plates of your flowers with additional water, to place the flowers in a bowl in bulk, or to buy from the apparatus that provides drip irrigation from a plastic bottle. If your trip will take longer than a week, you can give your house key to a relative and ask them to water your flowers regularly. If you are going to do this, remember to give proper watering instructions to the person who will be watering. Otherwise, when you return home, rotten flowers from over-watering may meet you, I know from there.
9. Close Doors and Windows, Mass
Unfortunately, the biggest risk during your vacation is theft. Locking all the exterior and interior doors that have a lock, and the windows if they have a lock, can make the thief's job more difficult or even make him give up. In particular, locking the balcony doors and easily accessible doors and windows, if any, allows you to take the security of your home to the next level.
10. Put Valuables In The House In The Safe
If you are leaving valuable jewelry, gold, valuable electronics, money, foreign currency, etc. at your home, if you do not prefer to take it with you on holiday or leave it in a bank, the ideal solution is high security, suitable for use at home. safe you can use. Thanks to the steel safe, you can take precautions against theft attempts for your valuables.
To choose a safe suitable for the size, weight and type of the products you want to store, to choose a safe that is resistant to water and fire, and to check the prices of the steel safe. Hakan Steel Safe You can view their products.
11. Run the Alarm/Security System, if any
Using an alarm or security system is another way to prevent your eyes from falling behind when you travel. If your home has a security camera or an alarm system, make sure it works before you go on vacation. Security systems are useful not only for theft, but also for detecting situations such as fire, flood, gas leakage.
12. Otherwise, Get Home Insurance
Even if you take all the precautions, problems may arise in your home while you are away. Your upstairs neighbor's bathroom pipe may burst, water may flow into your house, there may be a general transformer failure in the neighborhood, your electronic equipment may be damaged, hail may break your windows… This list goes on. In order to cover the damages arising from these and similar risks, you can take out home insurance. Your losses are covered by the insurance within the limits set by you.
13. Leave Spare Key for Emergencies
You are going on holiday, maybe you are going to a long-term distant destination and you will not be able to return in case of any problems at home. What will you do then? The solution is very simple; You can leave your spare key to someone you trust, such as a close friend, a neighbor, or even a neighborhood grocer. Thus, you can find solutions quickly when there are issues such as watering plants, feeding your pet if any, or being able to take care of when there is a breakdown in the house.
I hope this list of final checks to be done at home before traveling will be of use to you as well. Pleasant travels where your mind does not stay at home…