Don’t come back to a $5,000 disaster — protect your home with this 10-minute checklist.
Before You Travel for the Holidays, Check Your Appliances
Holiday travel is stressful enough — the last thing you want is to come home to a flooded laundry room, a failed fridge, or an energy bill that makes no sense. Every year, Triple A Plaza receives emergency calls from customers returning from vacation to unexpected appliance disasters.
The good news?
Most problems can be avoided with three quick checks before you leave.
Let’s break them down.
1. Check Your Refrigerator — Your Most Expensive Appliance to Replace
The refrigerator is the appliance most likely to cause major losses while you’re away. Between spoiled food, leaks, motor failures, or unnecessary energy consumption, it can become a costly surprise.
What to Inspect Before You Travel
- Excessive frost in the freezer
- Loose or cracked door seals
- Unusual noises from the compressor
What to Do Before Leaving Home
- Trips longer than 2 weeks: Empty the fridge, unplug it, and leave the doors slightly open.
- Shorter trips: Raise the temperature one level to save energy.
- Clean the door seals so the doors close properly.
Why This Matters
A refrigerator compressor repair can cost $200–$450, and in premium models it can exceed $800. If the fridge fails while you’re gone, you may face:
- Food loss
- Water leaks
- Overheating motors
- Higher electric bills
A simple pre-travel check can prevent all of this.
2. Inspect Your Washing Machine Hoses — A Major Flood Risk
Washing machines are responsible for hundreds of millions in water damage every year. A burst hose can release up to 650 gallons of water per hour, and if you’re away… it won’t stop until someone finds it.
What to Inspect
- Cracked, bulging, or stiff hoses
- Hoses older than 3–5 years
- Loose connections at the wall or machine
What to Do Before Traveling
- Always close the water supply valves
- Replace hoses older than 3 years
- Switch from rubber hoses to braided steel for extra safety
Why This Matters
Most water damage claims caused by washing machines exceed $5,000.
This is one of the highest-risk appliances to leave unattended.
3. Unplug Appliances on Standby — The Silent Energy Drain
Anything with a red light, digital display, or power supply brick continues using electricity even when “off.” If you’re traveling for two or three weeks, that adds up.
What to Unplug
- TVs
- Cable boxes
- Game consoles
- Microwaves
- Coffee makers
- Phone and laptop chargers
Leave only essentials connected:
security systems and (if necessary) your refrigerator.
Why This Matters
Standby energy accounts for 5–10% of home electricity use.
If you’re away, that’s money spent for no reason.
Traveling Soon? Triple A Plaza Can Do a Pre-Vacation Appliance Check
If you’re leaving town and want complete peace of mind, Triple A Plaza offers Pre-Vacation Appliance Checkups. Our technicians inspect your fridge, washer, and essential appliances to make sure everything is safe and efficient before you travel.
Because the best part of a holiday trip…
is coming home to a safe, quiet, problem-free home.
📞 New York: (718) 560-3131
📞New Jersey: (551) 355-5869
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