If you're closing up your Florida home for the summer and heading back north, the appliances are probably the last thing on your list. They shouldn't be. Six months of Florida humidity in a closed house with the AC dialed down and nobody around to notice problems is exactly the conditions that ruin refrigerators, breed mold in washing machines, and turn small leaks into floor-replacement-level damage. Check out our guide on humidity-related appliance problems. We've been called out for "I just got back, the fridge is full of mold and the washer smells like a swamp" enough times to put together this checklist.
This is a 12-step shutdown checklist for your Orlando-area home and an 8-step return checklist for when you come back. Most of it takes 5 minutes per appliance.
Why Florida summers are brutal on closed houses
The standard advice (leave the AC at 78°F and the dehumidifier on auto) works only if your power doesn't blink for six months straight. FPL outages from afternoon thunderstorms and the occasional named storm are the usual culprits behind the worst snowbird appliance disasters. Check out our guide on hurricane appliance prep. A single 4-day outage in August at 95% relative humidity is enough to grow mold in a closed fridge or warp wood floors under a leaking dishwasher.
The appliances that fail most after long closures, in our experience: refrigerators (food spoilage, mold), washing machines (gasket and drum mold), ice makers (jammed with frozen-then-melted ice), and any appliance with an electronic control board that took a surge hit while you were away.
The 12-step shutdown checklist
Do all of this in the day or two before you leave. None of it requires tools more complicated than a sponge.
- Empty the refrigerator and freezer completely. Including the door bins, drawers, and ice bin. Leave nothing.
- Clean the inside of the fridge with a baking-soda solution. Wipe every surface, including the gasket folds. Mold spores grow on residual food particles, not on clean stainless steel.
- Decide: leave the fridge running or unplug it. If you're gone less than 3 months and you trust your power and AC, leave it running on a slightly higher temp setting. If you're gone longer or worried about outages, unplug it, prop the doors open, and place an open box of baking soda inside. A closed unplugged fridge in Florida humidity will grow mold guaranteed.
- Turn off the water supply to the ice maker. The shutoff is usually a small valve behind the fridge or under the sink. Frozen water lines that thaw without supervision are a common cause of summer floods.
- Run an empty hot cycle in the dishwasher with white vinegar. This kills bacteria and dissolves any remaining food in the filter and spray arms. Then leave the dishwasher door cracked open about an inch.
- Turn off the water supply to the dishwasher. The shutoff valve is usually under the sink. A failed inlet valve while you're away is one of the worst floods we see.
- Run an empty hot cycle in the washer with white vinegar. Same logic as the dishwasher. Then leave the door cracked open and pull the detergent drawer fully out (front-loaders especially).
- Turn off the water supply to the washer. Both hot and cold valves at the wall. A burst hose during a 6-month closure is a complete disaster. We've seen entire ground floors destroyed by it.
- Clean the dryer lint trap and have the vent line professionally cleaned. Lint sitting in a closed-up house in Florida humidity can absorb enough moisture to support mold. Plus the vent cleaning resets your fire-risk clock.
- Unplug small countertop appliances. Coffee makers, toasters, microwaves, anything with a digital display. They draw small amounts of standby power and are vulnerable to surges.
- Consider unplugging large appliances with control boards if you're gone 4+ months. Especially the oven, microwave (if built-in or over-the-range), and dishwasher. A whole-house surge protector is a better long-term answer, but unplugging is the cheap version.
- Take photos of every appliance and the model/serial number stickers. Email them to yourself. If something fails while you're away or you need to file an insurance claim later, you'll be glad you have the info on hand. Check out our guide on home warranty appliance coverage in Florida.
What to ask a property checker to do (if you have one)
Most snowbirds in the Orlando area have a neighbor, property manager, or service that drops by once or twice a month while they're away. If you have one, this is a useful 4-point routine to add to their visit:
- Open the fridge and confirm the AC is still running and food storage temp is below 40°F
- Look for water on the floor near the dishwasher, washer, water heater, and under sinks
- Confirm the smoke and CO detectors are still chirping (they should be silent)
- Check the breaker panel for any tripped breakers
That visit takes 5 minutes and catches almost every appliance disaster before it becomes catastrophic.
The 8-step return checklist
When you come back in October or November, don't just walk in and start using everything. Do this first:
- Walk through with a flashlight before plugging anything in. Look for water stains on floors, swollen baseboards, mold on walls. If anything looks wet, stop and call before turning on power to that area.
- Open every appliance. Sniff. If anything smells like mold or rot, deal with it before plugging in. The fridge especially.
- Restore water supply slowly. Open the main valve, then walk to each fixture and listen for hissing or running water. A burst pipe under the slab announces itself this way.
- Turn appliances back on one at a time, with 10 minutes between each. This avoids overloading the circuit when everything kicks on at once.
- Run an empty hot cycle in the washer and dishwasher with vinegar before any real use. Even with the door cracked open, both will have built up some funk over 6 months.
- Refrigerator first, then freezer, then ice maker. Give the fridge 4 hours to come down to temperature before loading food. Give the ice maker a full 24 hours to start producing.
- Test the dryer with an empty cycle on heat for 5 minutes. Listen for any unusual sounds and check the exterior vent for airflow.
- Replace any water filters. Fridge filters and any whole-house filters should be swapped on return regardless of how long ago the last change was.
What to do if something's wrong when you get back
The most common problems we see on return visits:
- Refrigerator not cooling. Could be a tripped breaker, a failed compressor, or a control board damaged by a summer surge. Don't keep it running if it's struggling. That just kills the compressor faster.
- Washer or dishwasher water everywhere. A failed inlet valve, hose, or pump that started while you were away. Shut off water to the appliance and call before using it.
- Mold smell in any appliance. Run a vinegar cycle. If it doesn't clear after two cycles, you may need professional cleaning or gasket replacement.
- Anything with a digital display showing error codes. Power surge damage that only became apparent when you tried to use it. Check out our guide on power surge damage to appliances. The fix depends on which board got hit.
Common snowbird questions
Should I unplug everything when I leave Florida for the summer?
Refrigerator: only if you're prepared to clean and prop it open for the duration. Washer, dryer, dishwasher: leave plugged in but turn off water supplies. Microwave, coffee maker, small countertop stuff: yes, unplug.
Is it worth installing a whole-house surge protector before I leave?
For homes you leave closed up during Florida storm season, yes. They run $200 to $400 installed at the breaker panel and protect every appliance with a control board. After one summer, it usually pays for itself.
What temperature should I leave the AC at?
78-80°F is the standard recommendation. Lower if your home has a lot of upholstery and electronics; higher if you want to save on the power bill and accept slightly higher humidity. A standalone dehumidifier on auto helps either way.
Can I have someone clean my appliances before I get back?
Yes. We schedule pre-arrival appliance check-ups for snowbird homeowners. Usually a week or two before you fly back. We make sure everything is running, replace any filters that are due, and let you walk into a working house.
Get your home ready (or get it running again)
QLAMA Appliance Repair works on residential and commercial appliances across Central Florida. Anywhere within about 30 miles of downtown Orlando, including Winter Park, Kissimmee, Sanford, Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Oviedo, Lake Nona, and Winter Garden. If you're getting ready to leave for the summer or just got back to a problem, we can take a look.
Book an appointment online or call us at 561-320-7695. The diagnostic is $90 and gets waived if we do the repair.