If you’re going on a trip that will leave your home deserted for days, then you have to follow the necessary safety measures to secure all your appliances. There is as much threat coming from inside your house than from outside, and that is your electrical system left unchecked.
Securing your electrical system is more than just unplugging appliances and switching off the main breaker. If you’ve been experiencing even the slightest issues before your trip, then make an appointment with an electrician first. Days before leaving for your home in Provo for a trip to Miami or Chicago, don’t forget to do these safety measures, as well.
Buy power surge protectors
Power surge protectors, or power suppressors, are a worthy investment for several reasons.
First, they offer additional power sockets without the added worry that the device might overload. Second, they provide a layer of electrical protection against unwanted power spikes and surges, giving you the necessary peace of mind when you’re leaving town for a few days.
Completely clean your house
The next thing you’d want to do is do a general cleaning of your entire property, especially your yard. Trim branches of trees, sweep up dried leaves, and clean sources of moisture that might touch electrical lines or exposed wires, causing unforeseen electrical fires. Get rid of anything that might attract small critters that can tamper with junction boxes and electrical outlets.
Resolve any rodent problems
Speaking of critters, if you have a rodent problem within or beyond your home, make sure an exterminator takes care of it before you go on your extended trip. Otherwise, rats and mice might consider your absence as a free pass for them to skulk around, rummage things, and get into spots where they might trip or gnaw on frayed wires.
Disable appliances in advance
You might want to switch off your heater and cooler first. This way, you can clean off the moisture that they’ll produce, which can be a probable source of electrical shorts. The same logic applies to other moisture-producing devices, too, like your humidifiers or your air-conditioning units.
Turning off some appliances in advance also gives you enough time to check how they perform when deactivated, especially if they’ve been running for so long.
Set your self-timing lightings
It also bears noting that you don’t have to switch off every electrical appliance. Your refrigerator and TV recorder are exemptions if you still have plenty of food or you don’t want to miss your shows.
Another device you should leave on is your self-timing lamps. Set them to light up at night, so you can deceive burglars into thinking that someone’s home.
Upgrade your alarm systems
You should leave your security alarm systems on, or better yet, upgrade to a battery-powered device, so it doesn’t have to rely on power to work. There are closed-circuit surveillance cameras and motion alarm systems in the market that are wireless and run on cheap 9V batteries that you can install a week before your departure.
The best source of peace of mind when leaving your house is to have a professional electrician do a round of inspections days prior. You never know when an exposed wire or a worn circuit might cause you to come back sooner from your trip.
