Tips for Shutting Down a Condo for 9 Months

[beautifulthailand99]

At the end of the month, we will be shutting down our 15th-floor condo for 9 months before coming back to stay for 3 months in December. We have thought of all the obvious things such as a scrupulous deep clean of everything, switch off the water and electricity unplug all devices and the like. The room has great security and a metal gate on the outside so that it not an issue. But what should we do to preserve the contents in the best condition? My wife has a lot of clothes (!) and she is worried about them smelling. I've nicked a few tips from various sites already but would be interested in what others do and what to expect when we get back. 

 

1. Give away all foodstuffs to the family. 

2. Unplug and clean the refrigerator interior. Use a solution of one tablespoon of baking soda in two pints of water,in order to neutralize food soils and prevent odours. Dry thoroughly. Remove and clean the defrost pan at the bottom of your refrigerator. The refrigerator and freezer doors should be left ajar. Make sure that the doors cannot accidentally close.
3. Clean and leave a light coating of wax on surfaces of wood furniture.
4. Thoroughly vacuum upholstered furniture (even crevice areas). If there are spots and stains, remove or clean before closing the home.
5. Remove bedding and bath linens; clean, dry, and store. Vacuum mattress thoroughly and cover it lightly with a sheet.
6. Leave only clean clothes in wardrobes and cupboards. Allow space between garments to permit circulation of air. Do not leave clothes
on the floor. Leather shoes, belts, and handbags should be cleaned with leather cleaner. You may even want to spray them with a disinfectant spray. Do not wrap garments or other items tightly in plastic. This may increase the likelihood of mildew. Metal hangers, even when covered with paper, can rust and stain clothing.

7. Leave interior doors open to permit air circulation.

[Peterw42]

One of the most important things is the water in toilet and sink/floor traps. After 9 months the water will evaporate and sewer gases can the enter the condo.

I would be paying someone to come and flush toilets/run taps etc, air out for an hour, check for birds nesting on balcony etc.

 

[NCC1701A]

i use Dettol to disinfect my house. just add a small amount to hot water. my maid mops the whole house, bathrooms, kitchens, everything with this stuff. and clean and wipe down the whole place where possible. 

 

 

[beautifulthailand99]

4 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

i use Dettol to disinfect my house. just add a small amount to hot water. my maid mops the whole house, bathrooms, kitchens, everything with this stuff. and clean and wipe down the whole place where possible. 

 

 

1

My wife was saying the same thing - it's quite expensive here though is there a Thai equivalent - we paid 92 baht for 100ml in a chemist. 

[madmen]

stick it on Air BNB and have it working to generate $$$ while your away. Thats what I do

[melvinmelvin]

5 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

One of the most important things is the water in toilet and sink/floor traps. After 9 months the water will evaporate and sewer gases can the enter the condo.

I would be paying someone to come and flush toilets/run taps etc, air out for an hour, check for birds nesting on balcony etc.

 

yes that is a potential problem

 

I am putting a fair amount of oil in the toilet the reservoir and the sinks and floor drains

olive oil can be used

prevents evaporation - lasts a long long time

 

[atyclb]

keep in mind even without electrical devices there is a minimum monthly electric fee that if not paid will lead to a disconnect.   i had this happen

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, atyclb said:

keep in mind even without electrical devices there is a minimum monthly electric fee that if not paid will lead to a disconnect.   i had this happen

Pay PEA 5,000bht in advance, problem gone.

[Ulic]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Pay PEA 5,000bht in advance, problem gone.

I tried to pay PEA in advance but they would not take the cash. Not really sure why. They said to set up an automatic payment from a Thai bank account.

[cryo]

Hi the toilet will probably dry out in anything over 5 months so cling film the top of the toilet bowl to prevent ingress from insects. I also crumble some mothballs into the drains in case the U bends dry up. I also pay the PEA using a standing charge from my bank account. There is a shortage of electric meters and if you do not pay the standing charge the PEA will disconnect you and take your meter which could leave you with a three week wait for reconnects when a meter becomes available.

 

Ken.

 

[Ulic]

Saranwrap the toilet to prevent evaporation. Fill zip-lock bags with water and place them over the drains in the shower and sinks, and any other drains. Unplug everything from the electrical outlets. Shut off the water mains and the electric at the panel (make sure the meter stops spinning). You really should have someone you trust walk through the place once a week or so to make sure there are no problems like mold growing because of the humidity.

[AlexRich]

Install a couple of WiFi enabled cameras in the main rooms so that’s you can keep an eye on it from overseas. 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

Tell your mia noi she can use the place as long as she flushes the toilet once a month.

[beautifulthailand99]

Many thanks for all the suggestions both practical and humorous  - we have family close by but the thought of them lounging in our precious space (which they would I'm sure at length) is at the moment too much to contemplate but I am feeling a bit selfish thinking this way. I may soften towards the end of the month. Seems like the toilet is the main worry then.

[beautifulthailand99]

3 hours ago, cryo said:

Hi the toilet will probably dry out in anything over 5 months so cling film the top of the toilet bowl to prevent ingress from insects. I also crumble some mothballs into the drains in case the U bends dry up. I also pay the PEA using a standing charge from my bank account. There is a shortage of electric meters and if you do not pay the standing charge the PEA will disconnect you and take your meter which could leave you with a three week wait for reconnects when a meter becomes available.

 

Ken.

 

Thanks Ken we have done that so one less thing to worry about. 

[direction BANGKOK]

I left my condo for years and was not even as detailed as you. When we returned the condo was in better shape than when we left... we had a few cockroaches before we left and somehow they we completely gone ipon return. Everything else was 100%. 

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, AlexRich said:

Install a couple of WiFi enabled cameras in the main rooms so that’s you can keep an eye on it from overseas. 

Good idea and my limited understanding that they are quite inexpensive nowadays and easy enough to set it all up for remote access. 

[JohanB]

Run the aircons continously at a low temperature for some days before leaving, to dry up all furniture, clothes, rugs and bed matrasses etc.

Then don’t open windows or balcony doors after that.

 When leaving only have ventilation in the bathroom open and close the door to the bathroom, to keep the residual moisture there out from the rest of the apt.

Vegitable oil and/or plastic covering of the toilet bowl etc. works very good!

 

We leave our house (bungalow) for 9 months per season and have had some bad smell and moulds problems on the inside of the interior walls before, but after doing the forced ”aircondition dry out” trick we have had no more problems.

[wpcoe]

Leave closet/wardrobe doors open to help prevent any musty clothes smell.  They probably won't get mold/mildew with the doors closed, but would probably smell "not fresh".

[JohanB]

3 minutes ago, wpcoe said:

Leave closet/wardrobe doors open to help prevent any musty clothes smell.  They probably won't get mold/mildew with the doors closed, but would probably smell "not fresh".

Yes, fogot to mention that.

During the aircon drying process, leave the closet doors and cloth drawers open, to let the dry air in and then don’t close them by leaving.

[beautifulthailand99]

12 minutes ago, JohanB said:

Run the aircons continously at a low temperature for some days before leaving, to dry up all furniture, clothes, rugs and bed matrasses etc.

Then don’t open windows or balcony doors after that.

 When leaving only have ventilation in the bathroom open and close the door to the bathroom, to keep the residual moisture there out from the rest of the apt.

Vegitable oil and/or plastic covering of the toilet bowl etc. works very good!

 

We leave our house (bungalow) for 9 months per season and have had some bad smell and moulds problems on the inside of the interior walls before, but after doing the forced ”aircondition dry out” trick we have had no more problems.

Great advice Johan we shall certainly do that. The webcam idea would cost us 990 baht a month for the internet which probably isn't worth it and if we haven't left the keys with a trusted what would be the point !

[alex8912]

God the pedantic posters come out in droves. Is the condo in Bangkok ? 

Maybe things are SEVERELY different in naka nowhere but you already have done enough/ too much already! 

I left my condo in BKK for 7-9 months a few times with clothes etc just turned off utilities. Everything was perfect!  If there is some OBVIOUS problem a up or downstairs or across the hall neighbor will know and tell management. Just go and enjoy the rest of year.  Here’s how I look at it. I can go to Phuket for a week and all hell breaks loose in my condo. I can go to New York for 8 months and all hell breaks loose in my condo. 

What is the difference. Oh yah I can go to Hua Hin or London for 9 months and everything ok as well. I also leave my 120 year old house every winter to come here in a cold cold climate. I do EXACTLY the sane. Just turn heat to about 13cel and do the other things you do( but less). 10 winters and zero issues. Relax and go!!

[alex8912]

8 hours ago, AlexRich said:

Install a couple of WiFi enabled cameras in the main rooms so that’s you can keep an eye on it from overseas. 

Why??? Really the danger may be the bathroom or kitchen lol. 

What goes crazy in the living room when away just 9 months??  Oh yah. You and your chick believe in ghosts lol !!  JUST GO AWAY!!! Who cares what happens !  Nothing will happen 99.9 % of the time. 

[Postmaster]

Leave a key with the Juristic Person Office for emergency reasons.  Water/fire problems below above or aside your Condo. Make sure they have your overseas contact details.

[beautifulthailand99]

Good to see the suggestions coming in from various angles and opinions. Everyone one is welcome. It is a second-hand studio condo in Jomtiem so I don't think we need to worry too much. Thanks for all your inputs.

[beautifulthailand99]

12 hours ago, alex8912 said:

Why??? Really the danger may be the bathroom or kitchen lol. 

What goes crazy in the living room when away just 9 months??  Oh yah. You and your chick believe in ghosts lol !!  JUST GO AWAY!!! Who cares what happens !  Nothing will happen 99.9 % of the time. 

That said I could try and go for the record for the world's longest film and record the output on low-res on a 8TB disk. Working title Empty Thailand Condo.......... and stream it online  ????????????????????????????

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logistics_(film)

[Jen65]

Buy a dehumidifier to keep the moisture levels down and put on auto with a drain to the shower or waste . Need to keep the place airtight and tell anyone entering NOT to leave doors/windows open otherwise dehumidifier works overtime to get levels back down . I have 2 dehumidifiers working in my empty condo and they do help stop mould and mildew on woodwork etc. Otherwise  get someone to check regularly and run the AC units for an hour once a week .    Faux leather clothing ( handbags/belts etc) does not like humidity and disintegrates rapidly !  Could try coating with honey leather conditioner !  Even shoes suffer the same fate unless leather AND usually the glue comes unstuck on the first time out after storage !   

[elgenon]

On 3/8/2019 at 3:58 AM, scorecard said:

Good idea and my limited understanding that they are quite inexpensive nowadays and easy enough to set it all up for remote access. 

If you do that you will be using electricity. And can't unplug everything.

[KittenKong]

On 3/9/2019 at 10:19 AM, Postmaster said:

Leave a key with the Juristic Person Office for emergency reasons.

And have them rent out my unit - or turn it into a gambling/drugs den - whilst I'm away? No thanks.

 

No one in Thailand will ever have the key to my condo.

[KittenKong]

9 minutes ago, elgenon said:

If you do that you will be using electricity. And can't unplug everything.

Indeed. When I leave for a month I turn off all the breakers except the one that runs the fridge/freezer. If I was going away for 9 months I would eat everything in the freezer and turn that breaker off too.