On vacation: Preparing an apartment for a long absence of the owners

2023 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-28 03:52

Someone has only two weeks of vacation, while someone has a whole month - and every year millions of apartments are taken offline for quite a long time … enough for what? That's how lucky someone is. Somewhere there will simply be problems with houseplants or aquarium inhabitants, and somewhere the owners may face much more serious consequences of a long absence. How to secure an apartment from unauthorized access attempts? What should be done to avoid conflicts with neighbors? What other important points are worth considering? Read about it in the article that will help your apartment survive alone!

Security issues

Not every resident of a metropolis has the financial opportunity to equip a home with an alarm system and register it with the appropriate services. Moreover, we honestly admit that such unprotected apartments are in the majority. And this is well understood by people whose moral principles are far from generally accepted in society. Summer for them is a period of gathering information: what are talkative neighbors discussing, in which windows the light has stopped turning on in the evenings. But there are tricks to "knock off the scent" of the gunners, creating the appearance of the presence of the owners. So, we memorize simple recommendations.

It is necessary to reduce to a minimum the number of people informed about your departure.

To begin with, you need to reduce to a minimum the number of people informed about your departure. Inform only a couple of trustees about this. Ask them for a few favors.

First, a frequent check of the apartment will be required, preferably in the afternoon, so that the lights are regularly turned on in the rooms.

Secondly, it will take repeated "cleaning" of the mailbox … not electronic, but real. Receipts, newspapers, flyers and letters sticking out of a clogged container are the best proof that the owners have left.

Thirdly, you will need to carry out one simple household procedure every day - rinsing out a rag lying at the front door. What for? Many modern housewives, considering this tradition obsolete, have gotten rid of the "grandmother's heritage" and have long been using rugs with a dirt-repellent coating. But just during the holidays, a "return" to the roots would be very appropriate. A wet rag is a signal for those who choose the victim object: “Not here! There are owners here, someone was cleaning today."

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With the responsibilities of volunteers sorted out, we return to general questions. Let's talk about electricity. Many articles on home preparation for vacations recommend turning off all electronic devices. But do not rush to follow these tips exactly if your meter is installed in a public area. After all, nothing so clearly indicates the lack of activity in the apartment, as a frozen disc with unchanging readings. Be sure to leave something that draws minimum current. Let it create the appearance of the presence of the owners. Some, for example, prefer to leave the radio on. This has another positive effect - it creates the feeling that someone is talking in the apartment.

Neighborhood Issues

Enough about the personal, let's move on to social needs. Force majeure is what can make you return from vacation ahead of schedule. Well, or badly spoil the mood upon arrival, if you have not been reached. According to statistics, 7% of apartments vacant in summer become a source of huge problems for neighbors. In some, pipes are broken, in others a gas leak is recorded, in others there are problems with wiring. Any of the listed malfunctions are guaranteed problems for the entire entrance, if you do not intervene in time. Surely every reader will have suitable examples in his memory.

In the house of my relatives, for example, a family leaving on vacation flooded six floors at once: there was no access to the apartment, no one left phones for neighbors, the water could not be cut off for several hours. And this is the most "harmless" of all of the above.

So what do you need to check and do before leaving?

The first step is to make your contact information available. True, here we are faced with a kind of contradiction. Indeed, at the beginning of the article, we gave advice on reducing the number of people who know about vacation. Well, in an amicable way, the data exchange procedure had to be carried out a long time ago, even at the time of entry into a new home. But for some reason the tradition of “being friends with neighbors” has come to naught in modern society. So, if you did not do this right away, then hurry up and exchange phone numbers with your neighbors on the site two weeks before the vacation. An explanation “just in case” will be enough, but you can keep silent about leaving.

The second point is to check all systems. If you are lucky and there is a “jack of all trades” among your relatives, then entrust the inspection to him. Otherwise, it is better to contact the appropriate specialists: plumber, gasman, electrician. Have a routine checkup. Yes, a consultation costs money, but trust that the expense will pay off when problems are revealed in time. If everything turns out to be in perfect order, then ask for a written opinion on the serviceability of the equipment - in case of unforeseen situations, you will have proof of no fault.

When leaving, you must close all windows and balcony doors, cut off gas and water, and disconnect 99% of the equipment from the network.

The third point is the conservation of the object. Of course, when leaving, you must close all windows and balcony doors, cut off gas and water, and also disconnect 99% of the equipment from the network. In addition, some experts recommend installing a pair of wireless cameras in key locations so that you can independently monitor the situation in the house using the Internet.

The question of flowers, aquariums and other living organisms

Of course, if the owners are not beginners, then they are very familiar with the techniques of preparing "pets" for the absence of owners. We will only briefly touch on this topic, recalling the most practical tips.

Flowers … if you are the owner of capricious plants, you will have to ask the caretakers of the apartment for additional services. It is best to draw up a watering table, this will help you understand the nuances of caring for individual plants. Well, if your flowers do not need special care, then it will be enough to place them in trays filled with water, or organize automatic watering: dropper containers are stuck into the pots. The cost of the devices is low - about three hundred rubles apiece.

The aquarium … you will be cleaning the soil and replacing 1/3 of the water. In addition, three to five days before departure, it is recommended to transfer the fish to a lighter diet, and reduce the temperature by a couple of degrees in order to slow down biological processes. After returning, the procedure will need to be repeated in the reverse order, but with one exception - feeding at the end.

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животные… можно, конечно, разориться и купить программируемые устройства подачи воды и корма, но ведь речь идёт о живых существах - кроме питания им нужно общение. так что тут без вариантов (если вы действительно заботитесь об их благополучии) - нужно найти знакомых, которые будут готовы приютить на время ваших любимцев. снабжайте их инструкциями, кормами, аксессуарами, игрушками и… телефонами ветврачей. мало ли что.

вот, пожалуй, и всё, что нужно знать, сделать перед отъездом. в дополнение ко всему вышеперечисленному хорошо бы ещё накануне провести генеральную уборку. ведь по возвращении у вас будут другие дела: разбор вещей, стирка, готовка. а также приглашение друзей и совместный просмотр отпускных фотографий и видео, ведь главное в этой жизни - позитивные эмоции и новые впечатления, не правда ли!