During the holiday period, many Dutch people exchange their home for a holiday address for a few days or weeks. Are you going on vacation? It is important to leave your house safe during your holiday. In this blog we give you a number of tips to arrange this as well as possible with a few simple actions.
Checklist: leave your home safe during vacation
1. Turn off devices
Before you travel, turn off all devices, including those that you normally leave on standby, such as your TV or laptop. If you leave plugs in the socket, this ensures that there is still so-called standby consumption. With standby consumption, the power leaks from your socket, as it were. So always pull the plugs out of the socket. This way you prevent unexpectedly high costs and the waste of electricity.
Also don’t forget the WIFI modem. This is because it consumes the same amount of electricity, regardless of use. Don’t have an induction plate yet and do you cook on gas? Turn off the gas tap for safety.
2. Fridge and freezer
Two large consumers are located in the kitchen: the refrigerator and the freezer. Before you go on holiday, empty the fridge and freezer and defrost the freezer regularly. It is recommended that you do this at least once a year, even if you don’t happen to be going on holiday. An ice layer in the freezer ensures that you have less storage space. In addition, defrosting also saves energy. Did you know that with two millimeters of ice on the inside, ten percent more energy is used ?
Are you going on holiday for a short period of time? Then put the refrigerator in holiday mode. This position can be found near the on/off switch. Are you going on holiday for a longer period of time? Then it is better to turn off the refrigerator completely and pull the plug. Clean the appliances and leave the door slightly open. This way you prevent mold and your fridge can’t use energy when you’re away.
3. Bulbs
Turning off lights seems simple, but is often forgotten. It is of course advisable to leave a number of lights on, possibly with a timer. This is especially important in dark places around and inside the home. This makes it less attractive for burglars to enter. Use an energy-saving or LED lamp to save as much energy as possible.
4. Heating
Heating the house when you are on vacation is not necessary. Are you going on holiday in the winter? Then it is best to set the heating as low as possible. When the heating is completely switched off in the winter months, it can happen that the pipes freeze to pieces.
When the broken pipes thaw, the water starts flowing again. This can cause water damage. Do you not have running water when you return from vacation? Always check with the neighbors whether they also have no water. When they do have water, you know your pipes are frozen. The best thing you can do is contact a plumber.
Safe from home, rest assured on the road!
There is nothing better than going to your holiday destination with peace of mind. Getting a message from the neighbors that there has been a break-in would be very annoying. Leaving your house safe during your holiday is therefore important to be able to enjoy your holiday address to the fullest. Prevention is better than cure.
Inform your neighbors or roommates how long you will be away. In this way they can keep an eye on things, keep track of the post if necessary and call the police in case of suspicious situations. This way you can safely leave your house during your (sustainable) holiday .
6 extra tips for a burglary-free holiday
Tip 1: Check everything in and around your house whether your windows are closed and your doors are locked.
Tip 2: Do not close your window curtains. That way, burglars won’t notice that you’re not at home.
Tip 3: Ask someone to do your mail. For example, there is no pile of mail by the door, making it less noticeable to the burglars that you are not at home.
Tip 4: Pass on your holiday address to someone you know so that you can quickly contact each other in the event of an emergency.
Tip 5: Opportunity makes the thief. Therefore, do not put your valuables such as your tablet, laptop and jewelry out of sight.
Tip 6: Don’t post on social media about your vacation. Do you want to post something about your holiday? Change your settings from public to friends only or post your photos later when you get back home.
