Published by your neighbors at Home Watch Sun City West
October and November are when Sun City West fills back up. Cars with out-of-state plates pull into driveways, golf carts come out of the garage, and the first cool mornings feel like a reward. Before you settle in, though, it is worth spending the first week reading the house. A place that sat closed through an Arizona summer will tell you how it did, if you know where to look.
Walk the outside first. Look at the roof line and the tile for anything slipped or cracked, check the stucco for new cracks, and look at the irrigation heads and the plants. Glance at the garage door and the side gate. Then stand at the front door and take a breath once it opens. A musty or sour smell, or a warm stale one, is your first clue about humidity or an air conditioner that stopped.
Start with the water. Open the main slowly, then walk the house and look at every ceiling, wall, and the floor around each toilet, sink, and appliance while the pressure builds. Wait several minutes before running anything. Then bring the water heater back from vacation mode, take the water softener out of bypass, and let the hot water run until it is clear. Flush each toilet and run each tap, since some of the water in the lines has sat for months.
Daytime highs in the valley can still reach the 90s in October, so the air conditioner may be working right away. Put in a fresh filter, reset the thermostat to your normal setting, and listen for odd noises or ice on the lines. Check that every room is getting cool air, and look at the drain line outside for a steady drip. If something seems off, call your A/C company now, before the first cool snap when everyone else is calling too.
Wipe down the refrigerator, turn the ice maker back on, and throw out the first few batches of ice. Run the dishwasher empty once with a cup of vinegar, and run the disposal with water. Take the buckets of water you left out in the rooms, pour them out, and put them away. Check the cabinets under each sink with a flashlight for dampness or a small drip.
Scorpions, spiders, and pack rats are all part of life here. Look along the baseboards, behind the water heater, and in the corners of the garage. Look in the attic access if you can, and under the hood of the car for chewed wiring. If you see droppings or nesting material, call a pest service before you unpack.
Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and replace batteries. Replace the garage door remote batteries and plug the opener back in. Test the GFCI outlets in the kitchen, baths, and garage. Take a look at the breaker panel for anything tripped. Cancel your mail forwarding and ask your neighbors if anything came by while you were away. Make a note of anything that looks different from when you left, with the date.
If someone has been looking in on the house all summer, you already have a dated record of what it looked like in June, July, and September, and the walk through on arrival is simple. If you would like a hand getting the house ready before you land, we can open it up, run the water, set the air, and have it cool and fresh when you walk in. You can also read how we close up a house in the spring, then call us when it is time to plan next year.
Tell us when you leave, and we will plan the visits around your summer.
