Fridge /Freezers, on or off?

6 months, yes emptied and off with door left open.

Saggi

On…. what’s the point of anything else. Unless you’re going for more than 3 months!! All that running down contents and cleaning. No thanks.

There's every point Saggi! We only went away fora week and we turned everything off apart from the fridge/freezer - the broadband router, microwave, recliner chairs, landline cordless phones.......you name it, we unplugged it!

Charleygirl you could get a professional house sitter for a few days now and then.

If your brother is occasionally staying overnight, won’t he want access to a working fridge? Just a thought. Have a good trip ?

Empty, switched off and with the door wedged open. We used to do this in our French holiday home for 6 months and it worked fine. Good to give the shelves and door edges a wipe to discourage mould.

Oh yes Off. For a week or two mine has a holiday function, but as they'll be empty, off and ajar Have a FAB time.

Yes, a good idea to leave the heating on with the thermostat low. I think that this is also an insurance requirement. (Obviously make sure the hot water isn't on too!).

Good idea to clear about both fridge and freezer, defrost, switch off and leave the door open while you are away. DH does that every time we are away at sea for 3 to 4 months at a time.

But we also leave the thermostat of the heaters slightly on - to kick in when the temperatures dropped below freezing, so no burst pipes.

Have a fantastic holiday!

You could leave a few unused tea bags in your fridge and freezer to prevent smells even if the door is closed. I had to store my house contents for six months during a house move and the removers had to shut the fridge and freezer door during transit but they assured me there would be no smells if I used tea bags - they were right!

Regarding turning off the water. We were getting mums house ready for rental and it was empty for a few months while some decorating was being done ( during the first lockdown so took ages!). Unfortunately, just as it was ready, there was a major water leak, unnoticed for several days which caused over £20,000 of damage and six months lost rental. Under normal circumstances the insurance company would have disputed the claim as the conditions of insuring an empty property was that it had to be visited once a week. Luckily due to Covid restrictions on travel they had taken out this clause so they paid for all the remedial work.

It’s worth checking your insurance paper work for the small print and also letting them know the house is empty, it cost us an extra £60 in cover to maintain the insurance but in our case, it was well worth it! I go cold at the thought that my sister did not want to pay, saying it was a waste of money!

if empty then off. leave the doors open but also put a dish of bicarb of soda inside the fridge to absorb any odours

Switch them off but leave the doors open because it keeps it fresh if closed you will have a smell in the kitchen when you come back have a nice holiday

On…. what’s the point of anything else. Unless you’re going for more than 3 months!! All that running down contents and cleaning. No thanks.

If they are empty then switch them off BUT LEAVE the DOORS
OPEN

Off topic, but people often advise turning off water and draining the system in an empty house.
We only did this once, after many trouble-free times of not doing so, and we then had problems caused by air in the pipes.
So, as long as all pipes are lagged, I say turn off at mains if you like but don't drain the water from the system.

Judy54

Definitely switch off and empty. Our neighbours went away for 6 weeks and had left their fridge and freezer on (freezer was full of food) and there was a power cut. The smell from the rotting food hit them as soon as they walked in the door. A lesson to be learnt for the future!

My Mum and Dad came on holiday with us-got a phone call from my sister halfway through to say that their freezer had broken down! Would have been a lot worse if she hadn't been checking.

Definitely empty and switch off. As already highlighted, doors jammed wide open.

Yes, definitely off. I left the freezer on in my Spanish apartment and was paying €83 per month. With the electricity switched off, I subsequently paid for only the standing charge which was under €30!

Definitely off! We have done this with long absences. No problems at all on our return. (Plus it made us use up the contents in cooking, alongside a very thorough clean.) Just be sure to leave doors open. We wedged them with folded-up tea towels just to make certain.

I would empty, defrost and clean both.

Then leave them switched off and with the doors jammed open and a large notice to whoever is keeping an eye on things to NOT shut them.

Just imagine coming home to a freezer that had gone off due to a power cut then started up again - re-freezing food that should never have been re-frozen. And the soggy mess around and under it!

I would also make quite sure that no electrical appliances like a kettle, tv, computer etc. were left on stand-by and I would unplug them at the wall socket too, take batteries out of torches, transistor radios and the like.

I believe more house fires start due to electrical faults than anything else.

Secured open with a big sign on them saying Do Not Close!

Off, and doors secured wide open!

Thank you everyone for your replies. My brother and sil will spend the night here occasionally to validate the insurance cover, so will switch the fridge back on then, heating going on low when it turns colder and will make sure fridge and freezer doors are wedged open. My grand daughter loves my bungalow and she may also stay here for a few days occasionally. Thanks again, I will go ahead as planned!

Definitely switch off and empty. Our neighbours went away for 6 weeks and had left their fridge and freezer on (freezer was full of food) and there was a power cut. The smell from the rotting food hit them as soon as they walked in the door. A lesson to be learnt for the future!

Pantglas I have a minor problem I have no family or anybody to stay overnight or whatever.

Some policies are 60 day max unoccupied ( mine’s with Saga) which is ideal as my travel insurance covers 60 days away Callistemon.

The way around that is for a member of family to do an overnight every two months….