What to Expect When Returning Home

Returning to your Florida home can be the breath of fresh air (and burst of sunshine) you’ve been waiting for! We hope your travels were uneventful and that you’re settling back into the vacation lifestyle. Here are a few things to consider as you get back in the groove of Florida life:

"I see Bugs and droppings around the house. Should I be concerned?"

Throughout the summer, we’ve kept an eye out for any bug activity that you should be aware of and have noted it in your reports. We do this so you can either make arrangements to have the house professionally cleaned before your arrival, or anticipate a bit of vacuuming. We do not clean up dead bugs or droppings as the need to sanitize the areas where the bugs are is necessary for your comfort and safety. 99% of the time, droppings are from an errant lizard or frog that may have made it’s way into the house. If the dropping has a “white tip” or comes to a sharp point, the culprit is likely from a reptile or amphibian. They don’t usually live long inside as there’s no food source. The culprit is usually long gone by the time you come home.

If the droppings are more oval shaped and one solid color, that could be rat droppings. Rest assured that if these types of droppings are in your house, we have notified you via phone calls and pictures as this is in need of professional extermination. 

TAP THE POOP PICTURE BELOW FOR A DESCRIPTION.

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  Frog droppings are often large on one end and pointy at the other and are one solid color.

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  Lizard (Brown Anole) droppings are most common and can be identified by the white glob on one end.

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  Palmetto Bug droppings are small pellet-like balls, often found in groups

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  Rat droppings are uniform in size and color, and will often be left in a trail.

“What are these post-its around the house?”

The best way for us to remember all the details of each customer is to leave notes around the houses. This is to ensure that both of us (Rebecca and Josh) can overlap services and not miss any details. Feel free to toss these love notes as next season we will add new ones when necessary. 

“There’s a weird ring in the toilet, What’s that from?”

As the water evaporates from the toilet bowls, it may leave behind a yellowish film, especially if you have softer water. If you have toilet scrubbers near the toilets, we will give the toilets a quick scrub during visits. If you don’t have scrubbers near the toilets, unfortunately, this ring can appear darker and more elbow grease may be needed to remove it. Even with bleach or vinegar, evaporation occurs so this is something that is unavoidable, but we do try to mitigate it through the summer. 

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  Rings can appear in toilets that are scrubbed frequently.

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  Rings can appear in toilets that are scrubbed frequently.

“Some of my bushes/landscaping is overgrown. Why didn’t you tell me?”

While we are doing our exterior inspections, we are focused on any problems that may arise. If there is a particular cut of trees or specific landscaping needs that we aren’t aware of, please let us know so we can add it to our notes. Most of the time, we let the landscapers do their jobs, and assume that you’ve communicated any specific needs to them. We can certainly keep tabs on them, but our focus remains on things like gutter function, roof line issues, screen tears or rips, flooding issues and items that might cause problems with the house. If you have an excessive amount of weeds, it’s possible that we mistook them for plants, or that they’ve grown recently. This is Florida. Everything grows crazy fast here!

“Did you take your shoes off while inspecting our home?”

We do! It’s our policy to either take off our shoes or use shoe covers in your home. However, we may take our shoes off just inside the door, so that area may have a bit of dirt or mulch. We try our best to minimize this, but it’s a possibility. 

“Why are my cabinets and closets open?”

If you remember, when we first met I gave you a checklist of things to do before leaving. That includes opening up cabinets and closets for airflow. If you gave us notice of your arrival, we generally try to close up the cabinets and closets so you return to a home that doesn’t look ransacked. Feel free to close everything up and fall back into the Florida lifestyle!

As Home Watch Professionals, we try to minimize any surprises you might have when coming back, but sometimes it's inevitable. If you discover something that we may have missed, definitely reach out and let us know so we can continue to learn what your specific property needs are.

Housecleaning Services

Call Dakota Cometa at She's Sunshine Cleaning Services to give your home a refresh before you arrive. She's our preferred cleaner, and cleans our home.

CALL: 941-451-3311