Leaving a house vacant in summer in AZ (water, conditioner)

[Rick Lee]

I keep the a/c at 81 in the summer when I'm living here and my electric bill is around $250 a month then.

A short sale we're still trying to buy has been abandoned with all utilities off since early July. I've been in the house recentl and it smelled fine, actually kind of good. I know the home inspection will turn up some stuff though and I'll have to turn utilities on in my own name for that one day.

[youngac]

Do I need to leave buckets of water in the house if I turn off the air conditioning?

[Grannysroost]

Originally Posted by AksarbeN

The only thing I can add is that you might want to pour a small amount of olive oil into each drain. This will leave oil floating on top of the water in the sink drain traps preventing evaporation.

If a sink drain trap doesn’t have water in it, sewer odor will escape into the house. Also cockroaches that tend to live in the sewers may come outside of the pipes and into the house as well.

DO NOT put stoppers into the drains to prevent the above from happening! The moisture in the drain will grow mold and cause yet another odor to occur when you remove the stoppers. There is no easy way to correct this problem without removing a good deal if the drain pipes, stoppers, and other items that will be contaminated with mold and odor.

My wife placed the sink stoppers closed for just over two weeks of vacation and 5 of the sink drains down to the trap had to be replaced. I also lost a new garbage disposal the same way because I couldn’t get the mold odor out of the plastic and rubber parts inside of it. Three bathroom sinks and two kitchen had the mold problem and also required removing the drain and trap.

I attempted several suggestions from websites as well as plumbers who said they had special liquid to pour into the sinks that would take care of it. NOTHING worked. Removal of hardware was needed and corrected the mold odor problem.

I'd have a friend or house-sitter stop by and check inside the house every couple of weeks just to be safe.

What is wrong with RV antifreeze in the traps...I wouldn't worry with the water off and that in the drains/traps....no AC going, waste of money...

[AksarbeN]

Personally I've never heard of leaving buckets on water in the house when unattended for a period of time. Been here for 30 years and this is the first time I've had anyone talk about it.

For a reasonable price you might want a house sitter to visit every couple of weeks. It could be money well spent. If you're in an hoa you might want to check and see if another resident who lives in the community would stop in to check. Many neighborhoods have year round homeowners living there and I'd see if there was someone who would like to help out. My neighbors and I are always checking on each others homes while vacationing during the year. [ just a thought ]

[AksarbeN]

Originally Posted by Grannysroost

What is wrong with RV antifreeze in the traps...I wouldn't worry with the water off and that in the drains/traps....no AC going, waste of money...

RV antifreeze would be fine if it doesn't affect the water treatment plants for the city and if it doesn't evaporate or mineral oil ~ the point is ANYTHING to cover the water level to prevent evaporation from occurring.

[KarmaPhx]

I would suggest having someone look after the house for you, especially considering that you are posting on a public forum that your house will be empty all summer.

[MotleyCrew]

We have many snowbirds around here and they usually find a neighbor to come by once a week to pick up papers and flush the toilets to avoid the mineral buildup. The one couple sets the air at 84.

[maiseys4u]

To be on the safe side, leave your air conditioner on, but set it at 78-80 degrees and you shouldn't have any trouble. I hadn't ever heard about the buckets of water. What is that supposed to do? Good luck to you.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by maiseys4u

To be on the safe side, leave your air conditioner on, but set it at 78-80 degrees and you shouldn't have any trouble. I hadn't ever heard about the buckets of water. What is that supposed to do? Good luck to you.

If the AC is not a really efficient unit, 78-80 will be VERY expensive, and is UNNECESSARY. As I said, I live in my house with the AC set at 82. You do not need to go that low to "protect" (assuming it really needs it) the woodwork in the house. As was stated upthread, having the WATER shut OFF is a lot more important.

[youngac]

Buckets of water are to put moisture in the air when the air conditioner is turned off for the summer.