Snowbird’s guide to prepping a home before winter vacation

The days are darker, the weather is colder and the snow has started to fall. For many Canadians, that means it’s time to leave for the winter and head elsewhere for sunshine and warmth. Some will travel for a few months while others will take just a week or two as a break, but no matter how long you’re gone for, it’s important to make sure your everyday home is secure and protected (and that includes the right home insurance for your needs!). Here’s our snowbird’s guide on how to prep your home before a winter vacation.

Home insurance is great, but it’s even better if you know exactly what your policy entails. Most insurance providers have clauses about how long you’re allowed to be away and how often you need someone to check in on your home in order to maintain your coverage. Make sure you understand the conditions of your home coverage and plan accordingly to ensure that your home and belongings are protected while you are away. Plus, it’s never a bad thing to refresh your knowledge about what your home insurance policy includes!

As we just mentioned, you’ll likely need to arrange for someone to check in on your home while you’re away as an insurance precaution. Even without that requirement, it’s still a good idea to have someone keeping an eye on your place to make sure everything’s in order. Ask them to turn on the taps, flush the toilets and just do a general check-around to make sure that everything’s operating the way it should.

On top of having this person check on your home, see if they (or someone else) can handle your mail or delivery pickups. If it snows, have someone on standby to clear your driveway. Other than good housekeeping, it’ll make it look like someone’s home and present; if your place clearly looks like its homeowner is on vacation, it could be at risk for a break-in.

If you have a home security system, you’ll want to alert your security provider that you will be away. That way, if the alarm gets triggered, the company will know to send for help right away (because it’s not you setting off the alarm by accident). If you use security cameras, make sure that everything is working correctly with batteries being replaced and so on. You should also make sure that your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarms have fresh batteries as well.

If the house is empty, there’s no need to keep it as warm as you normally would. Save the money and turn your thermostat down, but not too far! You don’t want to risk frozen pipes. Experts say that 16 degrees Celsius is a good base temperature to keep your home warm enough that nothing freezes, but cool enough that you don’t rack up a hefty utility bill when you aren’t around. If you have a smart thermostat, you can keep an eye on it in the app. If it gets too cold, you should get a warning notification so you can adjust it accordingly.

Even if you’re only away for a week or two, it’s a good idea to do a thorough cleaning of your home before you leave. While cleaning might be the last thing you’ll want to do before a vacation, keeping a clean space and ensuring you get rid of all the garbage helps deter any unwanted pests that could potentially move in while you’re gone.

You’ll also want to dispose of any perishable items, especially from your fridge or freezer, before you leave. Even if you are only gone for a week, you never know when a winter storm could blow in and knock out the power. The last thing you want to deal with when coming home is a spoiled-food smell in your house.

These aren’t necessary, but might allow for some further peace of mind or help you save a little extra money while you are away:

· Consider turning off your hot water heater and your water supply. If you do turn off your water supply, make sure everything is trained and add some anti-freeze down your sinks and toilets just in case.

· Think about putting a couple of room lights on a timer so it looks like someone is home.

· Unplug major appliances, such as your TV or computer.

· If you’ll be gone for several months, suspend your phone, cable and streaming services while you are away.

· Consider not sharing your travels on social media. This is a sure sign that you’re away and your house is empty, and is considered risky especially if you have public accounts.

Leaving the winter weather for a sunny destination can be a fun (and sometimes needed) escape, but in the excitement of getting ready to go, don’t forget to ensure that your home is safe and protected while you’re away. If you’re looking to switch your insurance to make sure you’ve got the coverage you need, get a free home insurance quote online with Sonnet to get all your bases covered while at home and away!