Jessica
Going on vacation is an exciting and happy experience. At least, it is supposed to be. If you didn’t plan properly, your vacation can go from an awesome time to a nightmare if you come back to a home with water damage or any other form of damage.
Sadly, things can go very wrong when you’re away and don’t plan for emergencies. Plus, if you don’t take care of important things, you might spend your entire 2 week Airbnb trip worrying about what’s going on at your house.
Don’t stress about all that, this list of things to take care of before you go on vacation will help you avoid trouble and enjoy your time away!
Here are 18 things to put on your checklist for peace of mind while you are spending quality time in an Airbnb location for a few weeks:
1. Have Your HVAC Inspected
Before you can go on a trip, whether it’s a 2 week Airbnb affair or a month backpacking through Europe, you need to think about your heating and cooling systems. AC repair can be quite costly if it’s left to the last moment, so you should take care of it before you go away and leave everything unattended.
You may have to call a professional heating and cooling service to come and inspect your HVAC and ensure all is as it should be. Not only is it a good idea if you’re going away, but regularly inspecting your systems can save you money in bills in the long run.
2. Clean Out Your Home
An often-overlooked item that should be on your 2 week Airbnb pre-vacation to-do list is a thorough cleaning of your home. Sure, no one wants to clean their home when they’re excitedly planning a holiday, but do you really want to come back to a messy place?
Tidy up your home and clean up the yard. If the grass is long enough, cut it or arrange for someone to come and cut it while you’re away. While we’re on the topic, you should empty all your dustbins and then all the dumpsters so the rubbish doesn’t attract pests and stray animals.
3. Have Your Septic Checked
Having a septic inspection is essential because you don’t want anything to go wrong with your system while you’re away. That would be a true nightmare to come home to!
These systems are usually located underground, so if you think it’s time for a septic cleaning, you will likely have to reach out to a septic contractor to assist you. This is not a job you can do on your own, and most people don’t want to anyway.
Septic tanks are there to deal with your home’s wastewater, such as the water from your showers, toilets, bathtubs, various appliances, and sinks. Your septic system should be in good condition to avoid soil and water pollution.
4. Have Your Electric Inspected
The last thing you would want when you’re coming back from your 2 week Airbnb trip is problems with your electricity. It is a very smart idea to have your electrical systems inspected, and for this, you’ll need a professional electrical service.
These professionals can come up with a comprehensive checklist of their own to make sure they review every electrical aspect of your house. Your wiring, electrical meter, circuit breakers, and switches are some of the elements that will be inspected.
When given the green light on your electricity, you will know there’s no chance your home will burn down because of an electrical fire while you’re away.
5. Clean Your Ducts
This may not be something that comes to mind when you plan your checklist for your vacation, but you have to remember to clean your ducts. Failing to do so can lead to a build-up of mold, pollen, dust particles, and various other debris.
If that happens, you’ll experience discomfort when you come home and turn on your HVAC system. That’s because the system will circulate these pollutants through your home and negatively affect your health and the health of your family.
As normal citizens, it’s impossible for us to go deep into the ducts to give them a good cleaning, so you may have to call a duct cleaning company to take care of this task for you.
6. Install a Generator
You never know what could happen when you’re away. Storms and natural disasters don’t care if you’re relaxing somewhere on a sunny beach, and if you don’t plan ahead, your home will pay the price.
It’s a good idea to have a home generator ready in case something happens. You should install the generator before you leave and make sure it is ready to be used in case of an emergency.
You don’t need a fancy or very big generator, just make sure you have one that will be useful and keep things running as necessary.
7. Get Any Needed Roof Repairs
Your roof is the only thing between rain, snow, hail, and other debris and your furniture and prized homely possessions. Failing to take care of your roof before you go on a 2 week Airbnb trip can be very costly.
It’s not always easy to determine if something is wrong with your roof, so it’s best to get knowledgeable roofers from a roofing service to inspect your roof. They’ll be able to identify any problem spots and do the relevant repairs.
Don’t neglect to repair your roof just because you don’t think it’s necessary. The saying ‘rather safe than sorry’ is popular for a reason.
8. Program Your Thermostat
Unless you have lots of money to throw away, you are likely keen to save money wherever and whenever you can. One way to save money while you’re on vacation is to save energy. You won’t be at home to use your thermostat, so you should program it so it doesn’t unnecessarily heat up or cool down the house.
Most smart thermostats these days come with features that let you adjust the temperature settings while you’re away. These thermostats will only change the settings as they need to so the house is at a comfortable temperature when you come back from your vacation.
9. Put the Lights on Timers
Unfortunately, we live in a time where house break-ins aren’t uncommon and it’s necessary that we take precautions so would-be thieves are deterred. One way to do that is to put the lights around your home on time.
You can use analog outlet timers or you can buy smart bulbs for exactly this purpose. With the smart bulbs, you can control the lights remotely, and you can even put them on different schedules for every day to make it look like there are people at home.
If you can, take things even further and put your entire home on ‘vacation mode’. You can schedule the TV to play at different times, for example.
10. Check All the Windows and Doors
Another way to ensure your home’s safety while you’re away on your luxurious or adventurous 2 week Airbnb trip is by checking all possible entry points before leaving.
This means you should double-check that your doors and windows are locked and none of them are cracked open to leave an opening for thieves. Making sure these entry points are secure will also prevent any stray animals or pests from seeking refuge in your house.
Remember to also check your upper floor windows if you live in a bigger house. It’s easy to forget that you opened a window just a bit, and that’s all thieves and animals need.
11. Arrange House and Pet Watchers
Life will go on while you’re away, so you should probably arrange for someone that you trust to keep an eye on your pets and home. You can also hire a house sitter to come over and ensure that your home and pets are looked after.
You may also want to arrange for someone to get your mail for you, lest some of it gets lost. And if you’re expecting any packages during your time away, ask someone reliable to be there to get them for you.
Leave phone numbers with your neighbors as well so that you can be reached in case of an emergency.
12. Pay Your Bills
Who wants to be thinking about bills when they’re on holiday? That’s right, no one! So make sure bills aren’t something you will have to worry about while you’re away. The last thing you need is for anything to become overdue and cause trouble for you when you return.
Make sure that you’ve made arrangements for your electrical/gas bills and other expenses to be paid while you’re not home. If there are service providers or debt collectors who insist on payments to be made physically (you’d be surprised how many of those exist!), get a family member or close friend to make the payment for you.
13. Have Your Alarm Checked
Coming back from your fun 2 week Airbnb vacation just to find that your home has been broken into and your alarm never went off would be horrific. That’s why it’s very important that you make sure your alarm is checked before you leave.
This counts for your burglar alarm as well as any other alarms you may have, like fire alarms. Put in new batteries and let your alarm or security company know that you’ll be away. This way, the company will know how to react in case of an emergency and you’re not there.
14. Put a Hold on Your Mail
Although this list previously mentioned that you should ask someone to check your mail for you, it might be a better idea to put a hold on all your mail instead. Thieves have many clues that they look for, and mail and newspapers piling up outside are tell-tale signs that someone isn’t home.
It should be possible to put your mail on hold with USPS online, and other services should be just as easy to contact and make arrangements with. You will probably not be able to do the same for packages, so avoid ordering anything for delivery during the time that you’re away.
15. Take Care of the Lawn and Indoor Plants
If you have a garden that you’ve worked hard on and are proud of, leaving it unattended can feel like you’re leaving a loved one on your own. That’s why you should make arrangements for your lawn and plants as well.
You can hire gardening services to visit your yard and cut the grass and do other maintenance, and ask a friend or family member to water your plants while you’re away on your 2 week Airbnb trip. Coming home to dead indoor plants can be quite depressing.
16. Protect Your Vehicle
If you have a car or other vehicle that you’re leaving behind, you need to make sure it will be secure and safe. You may have to consider long-term storage at a neighbor’s or friend’s home to avoid attracting unwanted attention. To keep the car in a good condition, ask someone to drive it once a week.
17. Turn off the Water in Your House
An unexpected plumbing leak, while you’re on holiday, is a disaster that no one wants to experience. To avoid such a nightmarish situation, turn off all the water in your home unless someone will be visiting the house or staying over to watch over it.
18. Unplug Most Appliances
It’s a good idea to unplug the appliances in your home because you really never know what could go wrong. An unexpected storm can lead to power outages, which can damage your appliances. For safety’s sake, unplug everything before you leave for your vacation.
Enjoy Your 2 Week Airbnb Trip Without Worry
Now that you know about all the things you need to plan for when you’re not going to be at home during your planned 2 week Airbnb trip, or any other trip you’re excited about going on, you can focus on having fun and sleep easy knowing your home will be okay and in good condition when you come back.
