My parents moved to assisted living but we won't be selling the house for a while, so wondering what to do to the house to prepare for the vacancy. I turned off the water to the whole house in the basement and opened the highest (bathtub) and lowest (laundry tub) faucets (hot and cold). Did not do anything else. Is there anything else I am missing? Water heater? toilets? anything else?
Preparing house for winter vacancy
- Thread starter mookie19
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sarg
Well-Known Member
Treat the traps with RV antifreeze.
We winterize our home in MN every fall before we head S for the winter, I blow out the water lines, flush the heaters, and put anti-freeze in the traps. But we do leave the heat on at 50 degrees, but we don't trust it a 100%. We have an alarm system that would notify us if the temperature were to drop, and we could call a heating contractor. It's very easy for me to do this, I've been doing it for 10 years now.
sarg
Well-Known Member
I would definetly drain the heater & turn off the breakers.
Remember the toilets also have a trap in the bowl to treat after you drain the tanks.
A wet vac is a great tool.
Also remember to open the outside petcocks. An air compressor can also be a valuable tool to purge any piping of water.
You don't mention if the home is on a well ...... but if so ..... be sure to drain the pressure tank.
Remember the toilets also have a trap in the bowl to treat after you drain the tanks.
A wet vac is a great tool.
Also remember to open the outside petcocks. An air compressor can also be a valuable tool to purge any piping of water.
You don't mention if the home is on a well ...... but if so ..... be sure to drain the pressure tank.
Don’t forget the dishwasher and washing machine. The pumps hold water.
It would be good if you could leave the heat on about 40-45 degrees
It would be good if you could leave the heat on about 40-45 degrees
I totally forgot--they have natural gas--anything to worry about there?
sarg
Well-Known Member
Just assurance there is a delivery schedule in place ( is natural delivered like propane or piped ? ) ...... especially heating at 64 degrees. ( $$$ )
Natural gas is almost always delivered by pipe, and rarely fails, but it did recently in Washington state! A contractor hit a line with an excavator, and they shut off the gas to over 36,000 meters, and you can't just turn it back on like electricity!
There will be a huge difference between heat being set at 64 and 60 in terms of gas usage. I have shut down our cottage before I made it 4 season. You really don't need to be at 64 or even 60, 55 is what my insurance company recommended and actually required as a minimum. How they'd ever know... I don't know.
Determine sun directions and don't shut the shades of windows that get direct sun. It's pretty shocking how much warmer rooms are when sun heats them during the day. I have sensors all over our three houses. I constantly can monitor almost any situation if needed, until wifi fails. I have learned a lot.
Determine sun directions and don't shut the shades of windows that get direct sun. It's pretty shocking how much warmer rooms are when sun heats them during the day. I have sensors all over our three houses. I constantly can monitor almost any situation if needed, until wifi fails. I have learned a lot.
Although you didn't say, I, and many others, are assuming you live in cold climes where deep freezes occur. If you live in glorious places like San Diego (climate only) then much of this would not apply. Good luck and I am sure it was a tough decision moving your parents into assisted living. I know I'll be a candidate for that in the not-too-distant future.
Happy New Year all!
GymBag
Well-Known Member
If the insurance company finds out the house is vacant, they'll probably drop coverage- they don't usually insure vacancies. Make it look like someone lives there.
Also, don't assume "It can't happen here, it's warm"- one of my cousins lived in Menefee, CA and it dropped to the mid-20s long enough for a pipe in the attic to burst. That was really bad. Drain the plumbing through the lowest valve and blow compressed air in from the opposite end of the house with all of the valves opened sequentially, to make sure you remove it from horizontal runs. Once that's done, leave the valves open and tag them as 'Winterized'. Pour enough RV antifreeze in the toilets and drains to replace the water in the traps, too.
If it won't be too cold, maybe you could set the heat at 45°F, too- that may be the minimum temperature for the thermostat and it's definitely warm enough to prevent freezing pipes, at least below the attic if they're up there.
And then there are the squatters……
GymBag
Well-Known Member
I watched a YouTube video about one house and the owner bought it, so he could rehab and sell it- he had done a lot to it and spent a lot of money, but the squatters didn't care- one was hiding under a bed when the cops came in and threatened to shoot anyone who stayed, another was a pregnant woman who used "I'm an addict and trying to clean up" as her excuse for being there. The locks had been removed, the doors had been screwed shut and the place was filthy. They also had big screen TVs, all kinds of electronic games and in the room with the woman, used needles were everywhere.
If cheap internet is available, I would recommend installing at least one camera, to allow seeing anyone who might be inside- preferably in a place where it can't be seen, but anyone with a smart phone or video camera can see where they are.
sarg
Well-Known Member
Alcohol
Glycol
Dipotassium phoshate
As Gymbag suggests .... a timer attached to lamps making it appear occupied.
Glycol
Dipotassium phoshate
As Gymbag suggests .... a timer attached to lamps making it appear occupied.
GymBag
Well-Known Member
It's an environmentally safe glycol that doesn't freeze. It's used for RV/marine plumbing and in engines that use fresh water for cooling- the plumbing systems aren't always drained because of time/cost/location/ability (a pump out for these costs a fair amount and can't always be done by using gravity) and the freshwater holding tanks can be large, so several gallons are needed to make sure the solution is strong enough that it won't cause pipes to burst. It comes with various freezing temperatures and it's found at hardware, big box home improvement stores and other places. I like to use the solution for lower temperatures, but -50°F works, even in Wisconsin, where it can reach -20. The solution won't freeze solid, but it can turn to frozen slush. The problem with water is that it's one of the few substances that expands when it freezes and/or thaws, which is the reason it breaks pipes, cast iron engine blocks, etc.
It may evaporate from a toilet bowl or sink, but that doesn't matter- it won't evaporate from the pipes unless the vapor has someplace to go and as long as it leaves the pipes with enough space for any water to expand into, bursting shouldn't happen. As long as the solution displaces water, you shouldn't have problems with freezing drain pipes. Finding a way to make sure the supply pipes have no water is a different issue but blowing them out with compressed air from one end to the other is the way outdoor sprinkler systems are cleared out for upcoming cold weather.
GymBag
Well-Known Member
Especially good since the light on/off cycles are be set independently, randomly & not at the same time every day and with internet, the schedule and status can be checked/changed from a remote location. Even without internet service, if a router is onsite and powered, someone can do a drive-by and connect to the WiFi, in order to make changes (can be done if someone occasionally would be going to the house to make their presence known.
If internet service remains, it's easy to see if the network is still operating and if a battery backup is used for the router, the power can go out and the network's status can be checked, even though the dimmers/switches etc aren't working during a power outage. Some of the cameras use a battery and solar charger, which I would recommend for a location that shows the entrances at the rear of the house, where dirtballs are most likely to break in.
GymBag
Well-Known Member
It can evaporate, but it takes time and if it was in the bowl, it won't matter because the water in the trap has already been replaced by antifreeze. From the sewer gas standpoint, that's not always a problem- I have been working on a bathroom and when I work on the floor, the cap is off- I haven't smelled sewer gas but I did put some paper towels in the drain pipe. I would have thought it would smell like the North end of a Southbound Moose, but....
