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Hello there! Summer is here! Yay! Many of us are leaving our homes for summer vacation. Am I right? ;) One important thing (that will bring you tons of peace of mind!) is preparing your home before you leave. Nothing is worse than coming home to a water leak or spoiled food in the fridge. Ick! So today I am excited to be sharing 10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Vacation with the help of Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector by Honeywell. Many of these tips can be helpful whether you are on vacation or just away from home at work or running the kids everywhere! ha! So let’s get started!
1. Monitor for water leaks & freezing temperatures. One of the worst things that can happen to your home while you are away is a water leak (or frozen pipe in the winter). Two summers ago we came home to a huge mess. In the garage we have a big freezer stuffed to the rim. Every once & awhile when a big summer storm hits it will trigger the GFI outlet in the garage to turn off. Annnnd that is exactly what happened. On the garage floor all around the freezer we had about a half-inch puddle of thawed out blackberries & melted ice. Yep….our summer supply of blackberries was ruined. The garage floor still has a big blackberry stain! This summer our house is a little bit smarter. Recently we installed a Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector that can be found at The Home Depot.
I am brand new when it comes to having a smart home! The Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector made it so easy to get started in the smart home business. ;) Installing this device was so super simple to do. It connects directly to your home’s Wi-Fi & does not require a hub or anything fancy. I had it installed in just a few minutes.
The first thing I did to get started was downloading the Lyric™ app to my phone. In a few minutes we were all set up & ready to go. Another bonus of Honeywell’s Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector is that not only does it sense leaks; it can also alert you to freezing conditions. It has both built in humidity & temperature sensors. It is also wireless & battery operated. You don’t have to worry if the power goes out while you are away or out of the house. Your Honeywell’s Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector will still be working alerting you to any issues that may arise.
You can add as many of these devices as you need. We already have plans to put a Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector up in the attic near our AC unit’s drip pan, around the washing machine & under the sink.
This is our problem area in our garage that gives me the biggest worry when we go out of town or when we are away from house for very long. We have our big freezer right next to the closet that holds our water heater. In the past our water heaters pipe have frozen, & I already told you my sad blackberry story. If either of these were to leak again or if the pipe burst the mess would be huge! The Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector includes a 4 foot water sensing cable that can be put around objects & along the floor where you think leaks might happen. (You can also purchase additional cable for up to 500 feet of continuous coverage. That’s huge!) At our home I spread the cable on the floor of the water heater closet & then around the bottom of our freezer.
Of course, I had to test the Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector out! Ha! I placed the cord in a sink full of water. Within minutes the (loud!) alarm sounded on the Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector, & then my phone alerted me that a leak had been detected. (I love that it had a mute button. My kiddos where asleep when the alarm went off! haha!) I also received a phone call from my hubby. His phone had alerted, too! He also received an email letting him know. (I had used his email to set up our account.)
If I wasn’t home (& if this was a real emergency!) I could have called my neighbor & had them check it out. This could potentially stop a leak from getting any worse & would help give me the peace of mind that my home was ok.
2. Adjust the thermostat. When you leave your home, always adjust the temperature. In the summer you don’t want to cool an empty house. So turn it up just a little bit. In the winter turn it down, but not too low. If the weather is going to be below freezing you want to make sure your home stays warm enough to avoid potential problems.
We recently installed this Lyric™ Round Wi-Fi Thermostat. It can also be added to the Lyric™ app (or to Apple HomeKit) on your phone ~ making your home even smarter. We can control the thermostat from anywhere, so when we get home our home is the perfect temperature. You can find out more {HERE}.
3. Don’t forget the lawn & plants. If you are going to be gone for more than a few days, don’t forget about your plants. Either put a timer on your sprinklers or arrange for a neighbor to come over & water them for you. If you have a garden, be sure to let the neighbors know that they can come pick any ripe veggies. You don’t want those going to waste! Hire a teenage neighbor or lawn care company to mow your lawn while you are away, too.
4. Arrange for pet sitting. Your furry friends need to be watched over while you’re gone. Getting a responsible neighborhood kiddo to take care of them usually works well for us. It’s a great way for your furry friend to get some attention & fed while you are gone & for your pet sitter to earn a little extra money.
5. Empty the trash. This is kind of a simple one, but one that we have forgotten in the past. Ick! Be sure to empty out the trash can before you leave the house. Have a neighbor roll your large trash can to the end of the driveway on trash day, too.
6. Check the washer. Before you leave on vacation, be sure to check the washer. You don’t want to leave a wet load inside the whole time you are gone. Ick! This is also a good spot to leave a Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector.
7. Hold the mail. Be sure to have the post office hold your mail while you are away. This can easily be done online. Also, think about stopping any deliveries or newspapers while you are on vacation.
8. Unplug the electronics. Before you leave be sure to unplug the TV, computers & anything else you don’t want on while you are away.
9. Clean out the fridge. Be sure to do a quick check in the fridge. Throw out or give away anything that will spoil before you get back.
10. Stock the freezer. I always try to have an easy dinner ready to cook in the freezer. When you get home from vacation the last thing you want to worry about is dinner! Ha! I try to have frozen pizza or lasagna ready to go in the oven as soon as when we roll in.
Can you think of any tips I missed? Let me know in the comments below. :)
Remember the Lyric™ Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector by Honeywell can be found at The Home Depot.
Let me know some of the things you do to prepare your home before going out of town. :)
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This post was created for Ginger Snap Crafts by Ginger Bowie.
