Leaving for the weekend? Get your home Memorial Day ready!

Whether you are planning a short trip or a long one for the summer, let Campbell & Co give you their tips and tricks on taking care of your home before heading out on your adventure.

Air Conditioning

Temporarily adjust your thermostat so the air-conditioner won’t waste energy by running in an empty house. Increasing your thermostat a couple of degrees makes a big difference to save you money and energy while you are away. Research shows by adjusting your set point up a few degrees can produce a 10-15% energy savings per degree!

If you still need to change your air filter in your air conditioning unit, do so now.
Make sure you keep your air vents clear and open.

Plumbing

No one likes coming home from a trip to a flood in their home.

The best way to keep that from happening to you is to check your pipes. The ones under your sink, around your toilet and water heater and even the spickets outside of your home. If you see a sign of a leak, make sure you call Campbell & Co to come check out the problem.

For short-term trips: Turn off water at the main shut-off valve, unless some household items (ice maker, automatic sprinkler systems) require it to remain on.

Long-term trips: Do the same, while you are gone, have a neighbor or a friend turn on the water and run the faucets at least once a month. This will help prevent sewer gas from entering the house while you are gone and can keep parts of plumbing fixtures from drying out or cracking. Also, have the friend flush toilets and run the dishwasher.

 Don’t forget about your water heater!

Why pay more for heating water when you won’t be there to enjoy a hot shower?

Short Term: some of the new models of Water heaters have a vacation mode. Switch your water heater to the vacation mode, your water heater will still run while you are gone but not as often as it does normally.

Long Term trips: Set your water heater to vacation mode. Do not turn off your water heater while you are gone, we recommend flushing it out when you return form your trip. One way to flush out your water heater is to run the water heater until it is empty and then let it refill again.

Toilets

Have you ever come home from a trip, and questioned why your toilet looks a little dirtier than when you left it? WELL sad to say, toilets whether it’s being used or not collects bacteria, which can cause stains.

Short term trips: We like to pour a half cup of chlorine into the bowl (not the tank). This keeps stains from forming in your bowl.

Long term trips: Do the same as a short-term trip and have a friend periodically flush the toilets while you are gone.

Don’t forget the lights!

Unplugging unnecessary appliances in preparation for your absence will save you some money from your energy bill. For example, your tv, computers, cable boxes, microwaves, toasters and other small appliances don’t need to be plugged in while you are away.

Short-term: Turn off all lights except the ones you want as security measures. Put the security lights on variable timers.

Long-term: Do the above. Make sure your security lights are outfitted with CFL bulbs, which save on energy and are long-lasting.

Last Tip!

Campbell & Co is here to help you with any questions or services that you need for your heating & A/C unit, water heater, plumbing and electrical issues.