This is a great thread, some good information already posted. I have to deal with a family summer lake house up north that I have been winterizing for about 45 years, as well as my wife and my home up north when we go to the Villages. Both are different animals. The lake house is relatively easy. It was plumbed to be shut down and winterized. Turn off the water, throw the valves under the house to gravity drain most of the water, then use a air compressor to blow the rest of the water out of the lines. Use a shop vac to suck the water out of the toilet bowl and tank, and fill both with RV antifreeze. Then be sure to leave all valves and faucets open so no water can get trapped inside and freeze and trash the gaskets. After opening everything all the way, close them just a little bit so water doesn't get trapped in them in the open setting. Then put RV in all U drain traps, both to dilute the water stuck in the traps, and so that no stink from the septic system can back up into the house. And be sure to drain the hot water heater and be sure the power to the heater is shut off first and taped shut so it can not be accidentally open. And don't forget to set a bunch of mouse traps and not leave any food around. This house is not heated during the winter, because it is vacant and the plumbing is dry.
Our home up north is very different. That house has four heat sources. Wood stove, pellet stove, forced hot water baseboard and radiant heat in the basement slab, which is also forced hot water. The house also is not designed or plumbed to have the water drained from the plumbing, so it can not actually be winterized. When we are up north, we never use the forced hot water baseboard. Between the radiant heat and either the wood or pellet stove, that is more than adequate. However, when we come to Florida during the winter, the wood and pellet stove are not an option without us being there to tend to them. So here is what I do. First, I run the forced hot water for a few days before we go to make sure the system is bled of any air and everything is working. Obviously, fill the oil tank to run the furnace just before leaving. I keep the radiant heat in the basement slab at 70 degrees year round, it is very efficient and heating the basement in the summer prevents condensation/humidity in the basement so I don't need to run a dehumidifier. I run the heat in the baseboard in the first and second floors at 58 degrees. I used to have a lamp plugged into a temperature controlled outlet like vintageogauge previously stated, but now have a wifi temp stick instead. The temp stick allows me to remotely monitor the temperature in the home from the Villages and it also will send me a text notification if the house temperature falls below 50 degrees. If the temperature falls below 50 degrees I will call my neighbor and he will come by and check things out. If necessary he will turn on the pellet stove and come by once a day and fill the hopper with pellets until I can get the oil burner guy to come by and fix things. I turn off the power to my well pump just in case we have a water leak. Our heating system is forced water, but is a closed system that rarely needs to have water added to it, and there is still plenty of water in the pressurized holding tank if the system needs to add some water. I also turn of the heating zone that runs my indirect hot water heater as there is no need for hot water except for the heating zones. We also empty the refrigerator/freezer, unplug it and leave the doors open. We do have lots of food still in the coffin freezer in the basement, so that stays running. I fill a cup of water and put it in the freezer until the water is frozen, then put a coin on top of the ice. If the coin is not still on top of the ice when you return, then you know you had a problem. We are lucky to have a great neighbor who has two boys who need extra spending money, so they periodically check on things and use their tractor to plow us out when necessary. If I loose power, so does my neighbor, so he will come to our house and fire up my generator and flip the switch in my transfer panel so that it powers my oil burner and coffin freezer. I leave him plenty of gas for the generator just in case it is needed. I also put some LED lights on timers, so they go on and off at various times and it appears someone is home. And on the way out the door I flush a bunch of enzymes down the toilet to keep the septic system healthy. I have never seen the need to fill toilets with RV antifreeze, as long as the house is heated and there is plenty of water in them it is all good. I just shut the lid to the toilet so the water does not evaporate. And our house is plumbed with PEX tubing, not copper pipes, so even if the house did get below freezing, the pipes should be OK. With the radiant heat in our basement slab, which holds heat very efficiently, it would take a very long time for our house to freeze up. Hope this helps give you some useful ideas.
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