A-h-h-h-h Vacation Time!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s that time of the year when we all want to get out of the Northeast in favor of a sunny retreat.  Keep your house safe in Winter & free of plumbing problems.  Before you head out for your tropical delight, you need to make sure your heating and air conditioning equipment is programmed appropriately.  The last thing you want to do is to waste money heating an empty home. Once more, the last thing you need is to come home to Plumbing Problems. There are ways you can ensure your unoccupied home will be safe while away.

You might think that the most obvious solution is to turn off your heating and cooling equipment. But, this can pose some serious problems, particularly during the winter. You’ll be coming home to not only a cold house, but a house with poor indoor air quality, plumbing problems….and worse:

Plumbing Problems: Frozen pipes are no fun but please DO NOT leave your faucets dripping to prevent pipes from freezing. This MAY prevent your water supply from freezing but it can also freeze your drains.  Instead, leave cabinet doors open, identify drafts and seal them or for problem areas, call MCES and have pipes wrapped with insulation and heat tapes.

The following problems can occur:

• Burst water pipes

• No air circulation

• No indoor allergens and air pollutant control

 

Don’t let this happen to you. Instead, consider turning the thermostat down a few degrees so that the system runs in intervals (making sure your pipes don’t burst), and you won’t have to spend as much time getting your home back up to the temperature you desire when you return.

Go Wireless: Do you own a Wi-Fi enabled programmable thermostat?  If not, consider investing in a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat to control the temperature of your home even when you are far away from the box on the wall. This way, you can turn your temperature settings back up to the desired setting before you come home. When you do arrive, it will be like you never left. If you are interested in upgrading to a better thermostat, give us a call about your options.

 

 

For Future Reference: Substantially reduce heat loss by adding insulation to your attic and unfinished basement and applying weather stripping or caulking to all exterior doors, door and window frames.