Are you preparing to go home on Diwali? Complete these 5 important tasks before locking; The festival will pass without any worries and safely.

The festival of Diwali is a time to share happiness with loved ones and participate in the festival of lights. Lakhs of working youth, students and families from various metro cities, industrial centers and education hubs of the country move towards their home towns and ancestral villages. Tickets have been booked, bags are packed and the excitement of reaching home is running in the mind. But in this excitement and haste, people often completely ignore the basic safety precautions of their rented flat or their own house. A small carelessness—like leaving the gas regulator open, incompletely closing the window latch or leaving the geyser switched on—can lead to a major accident or huge financial loss during the weeks of holidays. If you are also leaving the house after keeping it locked for 4 to 8 days on Diwali, then it is mandatory to complete these 5 important tasks before crossing the threshold.

Kitchen security is the most sensitive part of the house. If the house is closed for a long time, even a slight leakage of gas in closed rooms can create an explosive situation.

• Disassemble the regulator: Merely closing the knob of the gas stove is not enough. Switch off the regulator of the gas cylinder completely and if possible, take it out of the cylinder and put a safety cap on it.

• Close PNG (Piped Gas) Main Valve: If your house has a piped natural gas (PNG) connection, lock the main isolation valve near the meter by turning it 90 degrees.

• Keep light ventilation open: Lock the exhaust window or ventilator of the kitchen in such a way that rain water or pigeons do not come inside, but even if for some reason there is a minor gas leakage, it should not fill inside the house.

During festival days, there is a risk of load fluctuations and rain or short circuit in the grid. When electrical appliances remain on standby mode, they not only consume unnecessary power (phantom load) but can also blow up due to voltage fluctuations.

• Unplug Geyser, AC and RO: Completely unplug the water heater (geyser), air conditioner, RO water purifier, microwave and television from the main plug socket.

• Correct refrigerator settings: If there are no raw vegetables or perishable items in the fridge, defrost it and empty it completely and cut off the power and leave the door slightly open to avoid foul smell. If there is any material left inside, set it to minimum cooling mode and turn down the MCB of the remaining non-essential switch boards.

It has been seen many times that when people return from holidays, they find their entire flat submerged in water. The reason for this is the sudden bursting of a flexible pipe (connector pipe) of the wash basin, water purifier or flush tank.

• Close the main inlet valve of the flat: Turn the main water tap (main valve) coming inside the house from the rooftop tank or meter completely and lock it.

• Release the pressure in the pipe by running the tap: After closing the main valve, open the taps of the wash basin and sink once, so that the excess water and pressure stuck in the pipes gets released.

• Mesh on drains and pest control: Put a mesh cover or a little phenyl/naphthalene ball on the drain traps of the kitchen sink and bathroom, so that the smell of sewer or insects cannot come up in the closed house.

In a closed house, fungus and bad odor spread most rapidly through food items left in the kitchen.

• Empty the dustbin completely: Empty both wet and dry dustbins at least 2 hours before leaving home and put them in the garbage cart. Wash and dry the dustbin thoroughly. Even a small banana peel lying in a closed dustbin can produce millions of fungi and cockroaches in 4 days.

• Do not leave flour, fruits or bread out in the open: Do not leave any cut fruits, kneaded dough or open bread on the kitchen slab or dining table. Keep all dry grains in an airtight container in the cupboard.

To keep your home safe from theft and mishaps, take some practical precautions with traditional locks:

• Keep the curtains drawn but do not fill the balcony: From the outside it should not be obvious that the house is completely empty. Collect clothes from the balcony, so that there is no danger of them flying in the wind or catching fire due to sparks from firecrackers.

• Smart camera or notification to neighbors: If there’s Wi-Fi at home, keep a basic security camera on. Tell one of your most trusted neighbors or the apartment security guard how long you will be away.

• Water-drip Jugaad in pots: For balcony or indoor plants, make a hole in a plastic bottle and bury it upside down or make a drip system of cotton rope, so that the plants get light moisture for 5-6 days and they do not dry up.

It hardly takes 20 minutes to complete these five basic tasks, but these 20 minutes keep you carefree and stress-free during your entire journey and festival, so that you can enjoy Diwali with complete peace with your loved ones.