The complete vacation-home checklist

For a heated home in freezing weather, the American Red Cross recommends no lower than 55°F. Treat that as a floor, not an automatic setting: plumbing in exterior walls, crawl spaces, an attached garage, or a poorly insulated utility room may need more heat. Put a temperature sensor near the most vulnerable plumbing, start its low alert around 45°F, and have a local person ready to respond before the room approaches freezing.

If no boiler, fire-sprinkler system, irrigation control, humidifier, or other equipment needs water, closing the labeled main valve can limit damage from a broken supply line. Test the valve while someone is present, confirm every household member and caretaker knows its location, and place leak sensors at the water heater, washing machine, under sinks, and beside the sump. In cold climates, remember that shutting off the main does not remove water already in the pipes; professional winterization is a separate job.

Read the insurance policy first because some policies set a required visit interval or change coverage when a home is vacant. If yours does not, a local walkthrough every one to two weeks is a practical starting point, with an additional visit after severe weather, an outage lasting several hours, a freeze alert, a contractor visit, or any unusual sensor reading. The check should include the exterior, ceilings, lowest level, utility room, water heater, HVAC, refrigerator, fuel level, alarms, and a dated photo log.

Start with four alerts that trigger a clear action: water detected means someone closes the main; indoor temperature near vulnerable plumbing dropping below about 45°F means someone checks the heat; humidity above 60% for several hours means someone checks HVAC, drainage, and leaks; and loss of power for more than 15 minutes means someone verifies what is still running. Add sump, well, propane, smoke/CO, access, and refrigerator alerts only when you have named who will respond to each one.

Use a humidity meter on each problem floor and keep indoor relative humidity below 60%, ideally 30% to 50%, as EPA recommends. Give the dehumidifier a continuous drain, clean its filter, test that it restarts after an outage, and set a remote high-humidity alert. Repair roof, plumbing, foundation, and condensate leaks instead of asking the dehumidifier to hide them; wet materials should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.

No. Cameras cannot smell smoke, hear water behind a wall, feel a cold room, see a ceiling stain outside the frame, inspect a crawl space, or tell whether a sump pump actually moved water. Use cameras for access and obvious exterior changes, then give a trusted local person a written 10-minute route: exterior, ceilings, lowest level, utility room, thermostat, fuel, refrigerator, alarms, and one timestamped photo from each area.

Do not wait for the tank to look almost empty. Ask the supplier what percentage should trigger delivery for that tank and location; 30% is a useful planning point for many homes, while winter storms and remote routes may require more lead time. Record the tank size, gauge reading, supplier, account number, delivery method, gate or driveway instructions, and who can authorize an emergency fill. Compare a remote sensor with the physical gauge before relying on it.

First confirm that power returned inside the property. Check the thermostat and HVAC, sump or well pump, dehumidifier, router, leak sensors, automatic water valve, alarms, clocks, and fuel equipment because some devices do not return to their previous mode. If food is stored there, USDA says an unopened refrigerator stays cold about four hours, a full freezer about 48 hours, and a half-full freezer about 24 hours. Send a local person when you cannot verify temperature history or equipment restart.