Summer has always been the most popular time of the year for travel thanks to school being out and glorious weather. This summer, summer 2022, is predicted to be the busiest travel season ever thanks to the last two summers making it difficult to travel due to the pandemic. If you’re like most Americans traveling, whether it be by car or plane, you most likely have some sort of travel plan for the next few months.
If you are planning on traveling you of course want to focus on safety. Safety for your family as you travel, safety during your entire vacation, and keeping your home safe while you’re away. While preparing for your trip, ensure that your home is prepped before you go to keep it protected for the duration of your trip. Continue reading for some tips on how to prep your home before your summer travels.
Raise Your Thermostat
It may be tempting to turn off the air completely if the home will be unoccupied, however, it could lead to high humidity levels that you’ll want to avoid. Instead, raise your thermostat a few degrees. Increasing the temperature can save you quite a bit of money on your next energy bill. Unless you’ll have pets staying home while you’re away, there is no need to keep your home cool and refreshing when you’re not inside.
Mow the Lawn
Even if your home is in a safe neighborhood, you still want it to look occupied while you’re away on vacation. Burglars are skilled in finding homes that are left unattended and they know the signs. One of the easiest ways to spot a vacant home during the summer months is by an overgrown lawn. To avoid making your home appear unoccupied, mow the lawn right before you leave for your trip. Having a well-kept lawn will help deter burglars and will make it look as though you’re home when you aren’t.
Lamp Timers, Curtains & Blinds
This is a no-brainer, but a great way to keep your home looking occupied is to set timers on lights. Avoid leaving lights on 24 hours a day while you’re gone – that can look a little suspicious especially if you don’t normally leave them on all hours of the day. Instead, purchase some lamp timers and place them in a couple of rooms in your house to make it look like someone’s home. For the blinds and curtains, leave them as you normally do; don’t close them if you rarely do. You want to keep the same patterns you normally do while you’re away.
Don’t Post to Social Media
It can be tempting to add to your Instagram stories or create a new TikTok in a new location but avoid posting anything about your travels to social media while you’re away. Save the posting for when you return from your trip. If you just can’t wait to share a new photo of the kids or a great dinner you had, post them without mentioning your location or that you’re away from home. You never know who is lurking on social media and you want to keep your home safe while you’re away.
Clean the Gutters
Just like you clean the interior of your home before you leave for vacation, you should clean your half-round gutters before you go. If you haven’t cleaned them and removed debris like leaves and twigs that have settled in the gutters during the spring and winter months, you are at risk of your gutter system overflowing, resulting in drainage issues while you’re away. The last thing you want is to come home to a flooded basement or a soggy lawn around your home’s foundation.
Traveling is exciting and sometimes the tips above are forgotten about in the chaos of packing and getting the family ready to go. Although these tips add extra stuff to your plate, they can make your home look occupied and will keep it safe while you’re away.
While cleaning your half-round gutters can help prevent drainage issues, nothing protects your home like the K-Guard System. Our gutter product can withstand all weather conditions including heavy downpours, hail, and strong wind gusts, three weather conditions that happen often during the summer months here in Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, and surrounding cities. The K-Guard Leaf Free Gutter System can handle a minimum of 23 inches of rain per hour all while keeping debris out. When you install the K-Guard System you’ll never have to worry about cleaning them again, especially before a vacation!
Check out this video to learn more about the K-Guard Leaf Free Gutter System.
Contact our team today or call (970) 432-8093 if you’d like more information! K-Guard is the premiere gutter company in Colorado, providing a leaf-free gutter solution for homeowners for many years. We proudly install the K-Guard Gutter System across the state of Colorado including, but not limited to, the following locations: Denver, Colorado Springs, Littleton, Centennial, Aurora, Boulder, Castle Rock, Broomfield, Fort Collins and so much more! Schedule your free estimate today.
All of us at K-Guard wish you safe travels and a wonderful summer!