Summer travel demand is higher than ever. According to Deloitte, 53% of Americans plan to take a summer vacation. At the same time, an ADT survey finds 66% of travelers worry they could better protect their homes before leaving town.
A vacation prep checklist typically includes taking out the trash and locking the windows, but homeowners who overlook simple home safety steps leave themselves at risk for water damage, break-ins and costly repairs. One contractor shares simple tips to protect your home so you can truly unwind.
Watch out for water damage
Just an inch of water in a home can cause $25,000 of damage. For high-value homes like those insured by PURE Insurance, that number averages $100,000 and can go much higher.
Chris Mannion, senior vice president of risk management operations at PURE Insurance, says the number one source of internal property damage among their members is water. In 2024, PURE repaired water damage in more than 3,200 homes, with the total cost of those claims exceeding $140,000,000. The costliest of these claims occurred in unoccupied homes where water ran uninterrupted for hours, possibly even days.
Hurricanes and wildfires bring additional risk in the summer months, but the risk of leaks from cooling systems is more mundane and more common. “Air conditioning systems work harder in the heat, and clogged condensate lines are a frequent culprit for unexpected water damage, especially in unoccupied homes,” warns Mannion.
Washington licensed contractor and handyman Tim Renfro recommends killing the main water valve coming into your home. “Just remember that if you have a sprinkler system, pool autofill or cold plunge tub, shutting off the main water line may prevent these from running,” he shares. If that is a concern, or if you do not know where the main shutoff is, a water flow device can be programmed to allow water use for scheduled activities but shut down unexpected water use.
Even with the water lines shut off, Renfro suggests adding water leak detection devices. These simple tools sound an alarm and notify you via a mobile application when water is detected. Though they will not prevent a water leak, they do allow you to respond quickly and minimize damage. Place these devices on the ground near water heaters and under sinks.
Reduce fire risk with simple precautions
Home fires are far less frequent than water damage, but almost always severe. Lightning and electrical surges are more common in the summer, increasing fire risk. Mannion recommends an electrical sensor and monitoring system like Ting, which plugs into an electrical outlet and alerts homeowners to electrical irregularities that increase fire risk.
Clothes dryers and grills are two other major causes of fire that homeowners can minimize while away. From 2019 to 2023, broken gas lines or gas leaks caused, on average, 13% of outside gas grill fires and 6% of gas grill structure fires.
“Shut off gas lines to built-in grills before leaving town,” Renfro says. “Disconnect portable gas tanks. Store them outside and away from structures to minimize risk,” he adds. Large propane tanks can be shut off at both the tank and via a secondary valve where the gas line enters the house.
Clean dryer vents regularly and finish the last cycle before leaving home to prevent clothes dryer fires. Jamie Block, founder of Your Legal Nurse Group in Tampa, Fla., learned this the hard way on Black Friday 2023. Block tossed a load of clothes into the dryer and headed out to run errands.
Less than 30 minutes later, she answered frantic calls from neighbors that her house was on fire. Though emergency responders came quickly, Block suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damage and was displaced from her home for 10 months.
“It can happen so quickly,” she reflects. “My best advice to homeowners is to give yourself a little extra time and make sure you aren’t running the dryer when no one is home. If my neighbors hadn’t responded immediately, we might have lost everything.”
Block also stresses the importance of putting an alert sticker on your front door or window, letting first responders know there are pets inside. Her own dog was nearly lost in the fire and was saved only because neighbors informed firefighters to look for him.
Plan for remote access
Lock all doors and windows before leaving town, but make a plan to allow access to your property in the event of an emergency. If a fence or gate prevents entry, work with your local fire department to install a Knox Box or similar device. These emergency entry boxes are controlled by local authorities who carry a master key and let emergency responders access your property even when you are not home.
Install a smart lock to allow trusted neighbors or friends to access the house with a code. This is safer than hiding a key, says Renfro, because would-be thieves can’t poke around and gain entry. Some models alert homeowners when the door is locked or unlocked and even when an incorrect code is entered, giving you more visibility into what is happening at home.
Increase home security
More than 800,000 burglaries happened in 2023, the last full year for which the FBI has data, and 72% of those occurred when no one was home. A home security system is a simple way to decrease the likelihood of a break-in, and installing one is easy. Options today do not require a costly central monitoring service to be effective; homeowners can purchase and set up systems themselves that provide alerts, trigger alarms and notify local authorities.
Take simple steps to avoid signaling that you are out of town. Trash bins left at the curb, uncollected mail and packages, and even public social media posts all share valuable information about your whereabouts to potential thieves. When possible, arrange to hold mail and deliveries. Offer to trade with a neighbor to bring in each other’s trash bins and packages.
If you want to share the joy of your bucket list hotels online, do so on private accounts limited to family and friends. Save the public posts until you return and make it clear that you are no longer away. “Social media can be a giveaway that you are away from home. Exercise caution or wait to post until you return from your trip to ensure you are not targeted,” says Mannion.
Save on utilities
Don’t leave home without adjusting your thermostat and water heater. A simple energy-saving tip is to use a smart thermostat. You save on air conditioning but still walk into a cool, comfortable home when you return.
Renfro says not to worry about recovery time if you heat your water with gas. Shutting the flow off at the tank or with the secondary valve leading into the house saves on heating costs and provides fire protection, and typical gas-powered water heaters require only two hours to heat. Restart the pilot upon returning home and enjoy hot water in short order.
Prepare now for peace of mind
Protecting your home starts before you think about taking that well-earned vacation. Whether you travel nearby or unlock the Sistine Chapel on the Vatican Key Master’s Tour, safety should be the last thing on your mind. Reduce risk and protect your home with these simple and affordable vacation prep tips.
Ashley Wali is a Seattle-based travel journalist and curator of Wanderlux, specializing in luxury family travel, sports tourism and wellness travel. She shares stress-free family trip planning advice to make luxury travel affordable and approachable.