What To Do When You Leave Your House For Vacation

The Handyguys — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:00:23 +0000

The Handyguys discuss how to prepare your home when it is not in use!

Brian and Paul first answer a question they received from Greg:

Our home is about a year and a half old, and we have a problem with a smoke detector.Â This particular detector is in the center of the downstairs area of the house, and directly above it is a carpeted hallway. All of the detectors in the house are fed by 120vAC with 9V battery backup.Â They are also networked, for lack of a better term – when one alarms, they all alarm.
The problem detector seems to have a false alarm whenever someone vacuums the carpet directly above it, when one of the cats is rolling around on the carpet above it, or when someone is dragging their feet on the carpet above. I’ve never heard of anything like this before with a smoke detector, but it seems to me that static electricity is causing some kind of interference.Â Is there any way I can insulate or shield the detector without ripping apart a ceiling or floor? I’ve performed tests on the detector every 4-6 months, and it always functions properly then.

This is a very interesting question.Â Could the problem be caused by static electricity?Â If so, how is that occurring?Â The Handyguys discuss this and offer some troubleshooting techniques. Also, if you need a new Smoke Detector there are some great deals in our Amazon store.

Have a worry free vacation by making sure you home will be as you left it.

What to do when you leave your house for Vacation?

Many of us enjoy a good vacation away from home at least once each year.Â If we are fortunate, we have a trusted friend keep an eye on our property.Â Even better, we have a house sitter live in the home to keep it operational.Â But for the rest of us, we have to leave the house vacant and hope that the pipes do not burst.Â And while we are gone, we don’t want to have to pay to heat or cool the place… or do we?

The Handyguys discuss important matters to consider when you leave for vacation. The season and climate of your home effects how your prepare your house when you leave. In addition, different types of HVAC systems have different requirements when left untended.

What if you are taking an extended vacation or leaving for a month or more? Listen to The Handyguys, follow their advice and have a happy, worry free less worry, vacation.

Feel free to send us a postcard or tell us where you are going on vacation this year in the comments.

Related shows:

Water Heater Repairs and Basic Maintenance

The Handyguys — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:00:55 +0000

The Handyguys answer questions about Hot water heaters (or is it “cold water” heater?) and discuss basic water heater maintenance.

Please note: The Handyguys apologize for some technical difficulties which led to a broadcast with some snap, crackle and pops. We expect next week’s podcast to have this problem corrected.

Brian and Paul discuss the maintenance of your hot water heater. Everyone owns one but you don’t always get instructions on how to maintain the heater in your home. We just expect it to work and it usually does. However, every hot water heater will fail at some point and you will typically discover this one day when you have to settle for a cold shower. Even worse, you end up with water leaking all over your basement floor from the hot water tank.

The Handyguys own gas water heaters but much of what they discuss in this episode applies to both electric and gas water heaters.

What are the key components of a hot water heater? How do you maintain the heater? Are there maintenance tips to prolong the life of our heater and avoid the expensive plumber bill? The Handyguys discuss these basic questions in the first half of the podcast. In addition to basic water heater maintenance, a sad story about an electrocution caused by a faulty water heater is discussed.

The Handyguys also answer a couple listener questions about finicky gas hot water heaters with pilot lights that keep going out. Check out this weeks podcast on hot water heaters.