closing up apartment for the winter, any tips ?

[LJH]

At the moment I am stripping all beds and washing and drying linen. I assume it is best to have mattresses uncovered ? Does linen keep best vacuum packed ?

First winter we have left place with all our own stuff. does everyone bring everything indoors during the winter if possible ? All advice gratefully received !

[Lorenzo]

My goodness it is that time already!

You can allow mattresses to air more easily by placing them on their side edges on the bed.

We also turn the electric off now - that was after we discovered a rather large electricity bill for December when nothing but the fridge freezer was working. A friend then pointed out that we have outside electrical sockets so I reckon that some workmen must have discovered them and just plugged in! Grrrh!

It can be a good plan to either lower loo seats - or even cover the loo with cling film whilst your place is not being used - to prevent additional humidity. Don't forget to take it off though when you go back in the Spring!

Getting a friend, agent or neighbour to run your taps and flush the loo during the winter can also be handy as it can prevent limescale building up too much. It is also a very good plan to sanitise your shower heads before use in the Spring.

Hope that this helps!

[alcanadakid]

We always bring stuff inside.

I would prop cushions/matresses against an inside wall as the outer walls can get cold and then mould can form.

We always put down those little plastic ant traps, For the few euros they cost, they are worth it.

We leave the electric on with a few lights on timers to make it looked lived in.

We do turn off the electric to the main oven, because if there is a power cut then our oven clock flashes until reset and that can't be good for it if left a long time.

.......And of course - we turn off the water! See my story "A Dreadful lesson"

[redshirt]

I suppose you could hire a caretaker for winter!! ....of course Sue and I will be the only applicants. Lol !!

[Smiddy]

We always strip the beds and just fold away the linen, leave the fridge door open, bring everything in and lock all the (good old fashioned) shutters, switch the electricity off and take a note of the reading, an ideal method of checking you've had no unwanted guests in your absence. Never had a problem in the 20 years we've had the flat.

[eleanor]

As well as the above we always leave drawers and doors to cupboards open a little plus a small window just slightly to allow air to flow freely.

We leave bowls of salt around to help soak up the damp and bring everything we can inside. We have a garage but do not leave seat or cushion covers in there over the winter as can be very cold and damp. Anything left outside which might go rusty I cover with a bin liner or even a plastic bag!! Obviously being careful not to bring too much attention to the fact that the villa is empty!

We also have gas bottles so ensure they are brought into the garage or they might just walk!

[Belladonna]

Some really good ideas there, some of which are new to me! Only thing I can add to them is that we always leave our tumble drier door, washing maching door and drawer open too. We did used to leave the small dehumidifiers in the bath over the winter, but was told that leaving the windows open slightly is much better ~ have done that ever since and it is! We also put all our outside cusions in a ziplock bag and locked them away in an outside container - DO NOT DO THIS!! They were all mouldy by the next season and we had to buy a whole new set!!

[Sparky]

Many years ago we had a caravan that had to be "mothballed" for the winter and we bought silicone bags which worked brilliantly.