How To Winterize Your Vacation Home

Planning and preparing are your best bet for winter

Listed below are some basic steps on how to winterize your vacation home:

One of the most important things to do is making sure that your electricity has been completely shut off at the main breaker. This will save you money, as well as the worry of electrical fires and the like.

Make sure that you unplug, then clean your vacation home refrigerator thoroughly, and that you prop the door open to avoid mold, mildew and food odors. Unplug all of your other appliances as well.

Remember to clean your vacation home gutters before you leave so that the rain water drains away from the home quickly.

If you can safely reach it, you'll want to disconnect your small satellite dish and store it indoors to avoid damage from winter storms.

If necessary, make arrangements to continue pest inspections and treatments in your vacation home so that you don't come back to unpleasant surprises.

Have all of your mail forwarded to your regular home address by notifying the postal service, and don't forget to have your newspaper delivery stopped too.

Make sure to drain the water from all of your outside hoses and cover the outside faucets with insulation if you're planning to be away from your vacation home if it's in a location that freezes during winter months.

Remember to turn off the natural gas and propane in your vacation home before you leave for the winter. If you need help, professionals are available to do this service for you.

Pruning tree limbs that hang over your home or utility lines can greatly decrease the risk of damage during winter wind, snow and ice storms.

Clean and drain your vacation home swimming pool, or hire a professional to do it for you.

If your vacation home is in a place that freezes during the winter months, hire a professional to winterize your plumbing, or risk coming back to a wet, mildew-y mess.

Even if your vacation home is in a warm climate, turn your water off at the main line before you leave for extended periods of time. No one will be there to find pesky leaks that can turn into big problems if left unattended to.

Additional tips for winterizing your vacation home

Now that you know what should be done when winterizing your vacation home, here are few more tips that could be done to make your winter months away a little more worry-free.

First, if your vacation home is in an area that that has lots of falling leaves, pine needles or pine cones, you may want to invest in screen-covered gutters to prevent blockage. Also consider these gutters if you think there's a chance that birds or other creatures could build nests there.

Also, consider leaving the air conditioner or furnace running while you're away, especially if you live in a high humidity area. This will discourage odors and mildew from accumulating in your vacation home while you're away. Speak with other vacation home-owners who leave for the season, to find out what they've done in previous seasons, and what works best for them.

Another smart idea is to find someone who can stop by your vacation home occasionally to check on it for you to make sure that it's clean, secure and safe. Make sure that this person has your phone numbers and other ways to reach you, just in case.

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