No heat in northern home all winter.
With the high cost of keeping heat in our Illinois home all winter while we are gone I am considering turning off all heat to our house. I already turn the water off and blow out the lines and winter...
Forum Discussion
A few years ago my mother packed up (Indiana) and went to visit my sister in Texas. She left the heat on, but as low as the thermostat would go. I checked in on the house from time to time. After winter was over, she came back home and then the fun began! The paint on several of her walls started pealing and several places the plaster started crumbling. The walls themselves were made of true plaster (back in the middle 1950's, my dad built the house, long before the days of "dry-wall"). This was the first time ever the heat in the house was down so low for such a long time.
Later, I learned you should never completely turn the heat off if you live in a "snow" state. Bottom line is, because there was no heat, there was no way for the humidity to dry out either. Once the humidity penetrated the paint, it just kept things damp. Unfortunately, in her her attempt to save a penny, ended up costing her a dime at the end!
Advise: Keep the heat on, it will save you, not "cost you!"
Later, I learned you should never completely turn the heat off if you live in a "snow" state. Bottom line is, because there was no heat, there was no way for the humidity to dry out either. Once the humidity penetrated the paint, it just kept things damp. Unfortunately, in her her attempt to save a penny, ended up costing her a dime at the end!
Advise: Keep the heat on, it will save you, not "cost you!"
