Opening Up a Seasonal Home in Southwest Florida
You land in Fort Myers or Naples, drive to a house that has been shut since April, and open the door onto stale air and a faint smell you cannot place. The A/C has been running at a holding temperature all summer. There is something in the lanai screen. You would like to be sitting outside with a drink this evening, not troubleshooting a water heater.
Starting at $149 · free flat-rate quote before we start
Opening a Southwest Florida seasonal home means undoing a humid summer: air the house out, check for moisture and pests before you unpack, flush stale water from the pipes, restore the water heater and refrigerator, and put the lanai back together. Most problems found at opening started months earlier, in a closed house in August.
How it works
Air it out and use your nose first
Before unpacking anything, open the house up and walk it slowly. A musty smell means moisture, and moisture in a Florida summer means mould somewhere — usually a vent, a closet wall, or behind furniture pushed against an exterior wall. Finding it in the first hour is far cheaper than finding it in December.
Water back on, slowly
If the main was shut off, open it gradually and then check under every sink and behind the toilets while the system repressurises. Run every tap and flush every toilet to clear stale water and refill the traps that dried out over the summer. Dry traps are a common source of sewer smell in a reopened house.
Water heater before you need it
If the breaker was off, water must be in the tank before power goes back on — energising a dry element ruins it. Fill first, then restore power, then give it an hour.
Outside, then comfortable
Patio and outdoor furniture comes back out, the lanai gets cleaned, the grill gets checked, and the things that make the house feel lived-in get switched on: TVs, WiFi, cameras, smart locks, thermostats. This is the part most people would happily hand to somebody else on arrival day.
The details that matter
Setting up the lanai
A worker arranges woven patio chairs inside a bright screened lanai.
- Seasonal home opening
- Setting up the lanai
A careful visual check
A worker uses a flashlight to visually inspect the dry cabinet beneath a kitchen sink.
- Seasonal home opening
- A careful visual check
Worth knowing before you start
Humidity is the thing that does the damage
An empty Southwest Florida house in August is a mould experiment unless the air conditioning keeps running. Most seasonal owners leave the system holding a moderate temperature with a humidistat rather than shutting it off — the electricity costs far less than a remediation bill.
Insects move into anything that sits still
Grills, outdoor kitchens, pool equipment, dryer vents, and stored patio furniture all get colonised over a wet summer. Check them before you use them, not while guests are standing there.
Check the lanai screening before the season
Summer storms are what tear screens, and you are arriving at the end of hurricane season. Damage found in November gets repaired quickly; damage found in January competes with everyone else's repair list.
Book opening work two to three weeks out
Everybody arrives in the same eight-week window. Trades, cleaners, and help of every kind get booked solid from late October. Arrival-day availability is the first thing to disappear.
You may not need to hire anyone for this
The parts you can genuinely handle on your own. We would rather tell you than sell you.
- Open the house and air it out before you unload the car
- Run every tap and flush every toilet to refill dried-out traps
- Fill the water heater before restoring its power, never the other way round
- Replace smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries on arrival, as a fixed habit
- Walk the lanai and screen cage in daylight and note anything torn
- Check the refrigerator and ice maker before a grocery run, not after
Where seasonal home opening comes in
- Patio and outdoor furniture brought out of storage and set back up
- Lanai and pool deck cleaned before you use them
- TVs, WiFi, mesh networks, cameras, and smart locks brought back online
- Filters and light bulbs replaced throughout the house
- Furniture moved back into place and covers removed
- Anything that did not survive the summer removed and hauled away
Seasonal Home Opening — starting at $149
Seasonal opening starts at $149 and scales with the size of the house and how much is coming out of storage. Book two to three weeks before you fly in — call (239) 494-3305 or online.
Text us a photo and a quick description. We'll send a flat quote — usually within the hour.
Text Us a PhotoStarting pricesFrequently asked questions
How far ahead should I book an opening?
Two to three weeks during peak arrival season, which runs from late October through December. Arrival-day and weekend slots go first. If you want the house ready the day you land rather than the week after, book before you fly.
Can you open the house before I arrive?
Yes — that is the usual arrangement. We can get the furniture out, the lanai cleaned, and the technology running so you walk into a house that is already working. Access is arranged with you or your property manager beforehand.
The house smells musty. Is that a mould problem?
It can be. Stale air in a closed house is normal and clears with ventilation; a smell that persists after a day of airing out usually means moisture somewhere. Check vents, closets, and exterior walls behind furniture. Actual remediation is a specialist job, and we will tell you plainly if that is what you need rather than pretending otherwise.
Do you handle the lanai screening too?
We clear and clean lanais and haul away damaged screening and bent frames. Re-screening itself is a specialist trade — we will tell you what we are seeing so you can get the right person out early in the season.
Can you also close the house up in the spring?
Yes, and it is easier when the same people did the opening — we already know where everything is stored and what needed attention on arrival.
What if something did not survive the summer?
It goes. Water-damaged furniture, a dead refrigerator, patio furniture that rusted through — we haul it out on the same visit rather than leaving you to arrange a separate pickup.
Related services
Flat-pack, beds, patio sets, BBQs — built right the first time.
You fly out in three weeks and the house has to survive a Florida summer without you. Last year somebody on your street came back to mould on the bedroom wall, and somebody else came back to patio furniture in the pool. You have a list somewhere from the previous owner and you are not sure it is right.
The storm has passed, the power is back, and the yard is full. There is a pile of branches by the road, a soaked mattress in the garage, torn lanai screening in a heap, and drywall and carpet you pulled out before the mold started. Somebody has already knocked on the door offering to haul it all for cash. You are not sure what you are supposed to pay for and what the county takes for free.
TV mounting and home installs, done in one visit.
Bought it? We'll go get it and bring it home.
An extra set of hands for the heavy stuff — by the hour.
Need it fixed, moved, or hauled?
Call, text a photo, or send a quote request. Most jobs quoted same day.