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Tampa – If you’re heading off for summer vacation or about to embark on a long business trip – you’re probably locking up the house for at least a couple weeks.
It’s a routine for plenty of people each year. In 2003, almost 19 million homes were left unattended at some point for a length of time. But what would happen if a pipe sprang a leak, the toilet kept running or the water line to your icemaker clogged? When your house needs you the most – you may not be there.
That’s why the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) developed Is Your Home Alone?, a new guide to help consumers close up a home for an extended period of time.
Is Your Home Alone? includes information for homes left unattended in all parts of the country, with custom tips for cold and warm climates .
The guide will also help homeowners choose whether to turn the water off or leave it on, protect active water service, plan for high wind and make the house look lived in.
Also included are simple steps for routine maintenance that will help protect the home year round, and a section by the Insurance Information Institute about obtaining proper insurance for homes that are left alone.
A checklist attached to the brochure can be torn off and carried in-hand with instructions for final preparations that should be made right before the owner heads out the door.
To view Is Your Home Alone? click here. For free single copies call toll free (866) 657-IBHS (4247).
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