Should I turn the air conditioning off when I close up my Florida home?

No. This is the single most expensive mistake made on a closed-up Florida house. Set it to roughly 78–80°F, or better, set a humidistat or smart thermostat to hold humidity at about 55–58% and let the system cycle as needed. With the air conditioning off, the interior reaches outdoor humidity within days and mold does the rest to cabinetry, drywall, upholstery and anything paper. Running the system on a humidistat costs a fraction of the remediation.

Should I shut off the water when I leave my Florida home for months?

Yes — shut off the main, or at minimum the supply to the water heater and the laundry. A supply line that fails in an occupied house is a bad afternoon; the same failure in an empty house runs at full main pressure until somebody notices, and the damage is measured in rooms rather than square feet. Set an electric water heater to vacation mode or switch it off at the breaker at the same time.

How do I stop drain smells in a house that sits empty?

The smell is a dry P-trap, which is an open pipe to the sewer. Fill every trap before you leave — every sink, shower, tub and toilet — and add a little mineral oil on top of the water to slow evaporation over a long absence. Put running the traps on the home watch scope of work, monthly, if you will not be there. It is the most common complaint owners have on return and it takes days to clear once it starts.

Does homeowners insurance still cover a house that sits vacant?

Not always, and this is the point owners miss most often. Many policies restrict or exclude coverage once a dwelling has been unoccupied beyond a stated period, and some require documented inspections at intervals. Tell your carrier how long the home will be unoccupied and confirm what your specific policy requires — then keep the dated home watch reports, because that stack of reports is what proves the condition was met.

What should a home watch service actually check?

Interior humidity and thermostat reading recorded each visit; every ceiling, window head and under-sink area checked for staining or damp; all traps run; the A/C drain pan and filter checked; the water heater and laundry area checked; the electrical panel checked for tripped breakers; the exterior walked including the roof line, lanai and pool cage; mail and packages cleared; and a dated, photographed written report after every single visit. Weekly is the standard worth paying for, and a visit with no written report is unverifiable.

What should I check first when I return to my Florida home?

Before you turn anything on, walk the house and look and smell — ceilings, window heads, under every sink, behind the toilets, inside cabinets. A musty smell is information. Then turn the main water back on slowly and walk the house again, standing still to listen for running water. Doing the leak inspection before the systems are all running and masking each other catches a failure in the first ten minutes rather than the first week.

Closing Up a Florida Home for the Season: The Complete Checklist

A house that sits closed for months is not a dormant house. It is a house with the humidity turned loose in it, and every decision in this guide follows from that one fact.

The two failures that cost the most both come from trying to save money on the way out the door: switching the air conditioning off, and leaving the water on. This is the checklist for both ends of the trip. (General education only — not legal, tax, financial, or insurance advice. Confirm vacancy and inspection requirements with your own carrier.)

The 60-second version

Never switch the A/C off. Hold humidity at 55–58% on a humidistat. This is not a comfort setting — it is what stops mold.
Shut the water main. A failed supply line in an empty house runs at full pressure until someone notices.
Fill every drain trap and add mineral oil. A dry trap is an open pipe to the sewer.
Tell your carrier. Many policies restrict coverage after a stated period of vacancy — and some require documented inspections.
Home watch is only worth what its reporting is worth. Dated, photographed report after every visit, or you cannot prove anything.

Closing up: the departure checklist

Water. Shut off the main, or at minimum the supply to the water heater and the laundry. Set an electric water heater to vacation mode or switch it off at the breaker.

Air — this is the one that matters. Do not switch the A/C off. Set it around 78–80°F, or better, set a humidistat or smart thermostat to hold humidity at roughly 55–58% and let it cycle as needed. The electricity is a fraction of the remediation.

Traps. Fill every drain — every sink, shower, tub and toilet — and add a little mineral oil on top of the water to slow evaporation. Flush toilets and shut their supply.

Kitchen. Empty the refrigerator. Then either leave it running, or clean it, switch it off, and prop the doors open. What you cannot do is switch it off and close it.

Electrical. Unplug electronics and small appliances. Leave the refrigerator and the air conditioning on.

Exterior. Bring in everything loose from the lanai and pool deck. If the home will sit through hurricane season, arrange storm protection now — see the hurricane prep guide.

Admin. Hold the mail. Notify the association and the gate. Tell your insurer how long the home will be unoccupied. Arrange pool and lawn service. Book the home watch. Leave a key and the alarm code with someone local.

Photograph every room on the way out.

Why the A/C stays on

It is worth being explicit, because the instinct to switch it off is strong and the consequence is expensive.

Air conditioning in Florida is a moisture-control system. Switch it off and the interior reaches outdoor humidity within days. Mold does not need a leak — it needs sustained humidity above roughly 60% and time, and an empty Florida house in August supplies both generously. What it consumes is cabinetry, drywall, upholstery, and anything made of paper.

A humidistat is better than a temperature setpoint because it targets the actual variable. The system runs when the house needs drying and rests when it does not, rather than cycling on a thermostat that cannot see the problem.

The insurance point most owners miss

Many homeowners policies restrict or exclude coverage once a dwelling has been unoccupied beyond a stated period, and some require documented inspections at intervals while it is empty.

Two things follow. Tell your carrier how long the home will be unoccupied, and ask specifically what your policy requires. Then keep every dated home watch report — that stack of reports is what proves the condition was met if you ever have to make a claim.

This is not a technicality. It is the difference between a covered loss and an argument.

Home watch: buy the reporting, not the visit

Home watch is the difference between a failure caught in days and a failure discovered in months. The entire value is in what gets reported back, because a visit with no written report is unverifiable.

Agree the scope in writing. A good one includes:

Interior humidity and thermostat reading recorded each visit, so you can see a trend
Every ceiling, window head and under-sink area checked for staining or damp
All traps run
The A/C drain pan and filter checked
The water heater and laundry area checked
The electrical panel checked for tripped breakers
The exterior walked, including the roof line, lanai and pool cage
Mail and packages cleared
A dated, photographed written report sent after every single visit

Weekly is the standard worth paying for. Confirm the company carries liability insurance. And confirm separately with your own insurer what inspection interval your policy requires — those two answers are not always the same, and the policy’s answer is the one that governs.

The storm plan for a home nobody is in

Storm protection that depends on you being here does not protect a home you are not at.

Decide now, in writing, who deploys shutters if a storm threatens, and confirm they can physically reach the property and get through the gate. Confirm who inspects afterwards and reports. Leave your insurer’s claim number, your policy number and your contractor contacts with that person.

Make this arrangement before the season. Once a storm is named, everyone local is protecting their own property first, and access to the area may be restricted for days afterward.

Opening up: the return checklist

Do this in order. The order is the point.

Before you turn anything on, walk the house and look and smell: ceilings, window heads, under every sink, behind the toilets, inside cabinets. A musty smell is information.

Then turn the main water back on slowly and walk the house again — listening as much as looking. Standing still and listening for running water is how you find a failure in the first ten minutes rather than the first week. Doing this before every system is running and masking the others is why the order matters.

Then: restore the water heater and give it time. Run every tap until the water is clear. Run the dishwasher and washing machine empty. Check the A/C filter and drain line and book the service call. Test the smoke alarms. Check the refrigerator ice maker and water line. Walk the roof line and the pool cage. Reset the irrigation schedule. Take the mail hold off.

The schedule

Task	How often	When	Who
❗ Closing the house up — the departure checklist	As needed	Apr, May	DIY
❗ Opening the house back up — the return checklist	As needed	Oct, Nov	DIY
❗ Set the home watch scope of work in writing	Once a year	Apr	DIY
❗ Storm plan for a home that will be empty	Once a year	May	DIY
Confirm humidity readings while the home sits empty	Monthly	Most of the year	DIY or pro

Put this on autopilot

Every task on this page is already dated in The Florida Home Maintenance Calendar — a free calendar you subscribe to once, in the track that matches your home.

Homes lived in year-round: https://naplesliving.us/guides/florida-home-maintenance-fulltime.ics
Homes closed up part of the year: https://naplesliving.us/guides/florida-home-maintenance-seasonal.ics

Or download the printable PDF — 31 pages, month by month, no email required.

The Florida Home Maintenance Calendar — the full year, in a seasonal-home track
Hurricane Season Prep for a Naples Home — the May checklist
Florida A/C Maintenance — humidity targets and the drain line
Homeowners Insurance in Naples, FL — how coverage works here
Best Naples Neighborhoods for Seasonal Owners — lock-and-leave considerations by community