Cold temperatures and winter weather are here! Please consider these helpful suggestions for Outer Banks property Owners and Tenants to consider:
Colder temperatures at night make us do what we all hate to do and that’s turning on the heat and recognizing that summer is truly over! It’s always a good thing to consider having a seasonal check of your HVAC system in both before the winter as well as before the summer. Checking levels, switches, capacitors and other important components of your heating and air system can help save not only the life of your system but also the electric charges. The vendor can check to be sure the filters that are being used are the correct ones, we DO NOT recommend that our Tenants use the 3-month filters they are too thick and can cause a strain on your system if it has to struggle to pull in air to heat and circulate. These types of service checks can also check to be sure the thermostats are working properly as well as to assess if your vent and/or duct system needs cleaned.
Our lease with our Tenants require that they winterize and drain the outside shower and faucets during this time of the year. This means to turn off the shut off valves to the shower and drain it by opening the spigot or pit caulk valve at the lowest point to drain the water out so that these fixtures will not freeze or burst. We also ask that they remove their garden hoses from the faucets because this will cause an outside faucet to freeze and burst. You can purchase outside faucet insulated covers at Home Depot and Lowes that only cost a few bucks and can be used year after year. They are a wise investment.
If you Tenants are going out of town over the holidays, we also ask that they be sure to leave their heat on at least 65 as well as to open up all cabinet doors to let the heat circulate to the pipes. We also ask that they consider shutting off the water to the house at the cut off valve in case there is a leak that water will not run inside the house while they are out of town.