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Much2See's avatar
Much2See
Explorer
Sep 16, 2016

Winterizing house

I've heard conflicting opinions on this and was wondering what you do. If the house has no heat at all for the winter should we expect damage of any kind? Once it snows our road won't be accessible until the thaw (April, maybe. And people wonder why we're heading south.....)
  • We live east of Seattle with a moderate winter climate (typical overnight lows above 20 degrees), but I do the following when going south for the winter (maybe more than I really need to do):

    Set furnace to 50 degrees.

    Turn off water to house.

    Drain water lines, but not water heater. (Of course, an argument could be made for draining the water heater, but it takes a long time and I am always in a hurry to get on the road.)

    Empty water from toilet tanks.

    Put RV anti-freeze in toilet bowls and p-traps.

    Next door neighbor does a walk-around and walk-through every 2 weeks.
  • I'm sure you will get conflicting replies but here is my opinion. When I asked the HVAC people here in Tennessee I was told to keep the heat on. I could set the thermostat at 55 and be okay. Any lower and humidity would be an issue. We have hardwood flooring and the higher humidity could cause damage to the floor too.
  • Many houses have no heat for the winter usually foreclosures. They seem to suffer no damage. The furniture in your home might be a different story which I cannot speak to with no heat.
    When we owned a stick and brick I winterized including antifreeze in the pipes. I also kept the thermostat at 40 degrees the antifreeze was for peace of mind should the furnace go out and no one came by to check for a few days.

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