Winterizing up North

[jabacon6669]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

[Tom52]

Do you have a way to be notified if the heating system fails? We used to put RV antifreeze in the toilets. We did not drain water lines but we only dropped thermostat to 60 degrees. At 50 degrees you may have a higher chance of freezing pipes in a poorly insulated area. You might turn off hot water heater if not needed.

[Malsua]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

Is your heating system forced air? If it's hot water baseboard, there's more to do.

Here's what we did before we got hotwater baseboard heating.

Turn off the well pump. Turn off the water heater.
Open the drain at the lowest point in your system. Open all your faucets, including the bathtub/showers.
Pour some RV anti-freeze in the toilets, both up top and in the bowl. ETA: Also any sink/tub drains
Cover your bowls with Saran wrap. This helps keep the mice from going for a swim because that's where you will find them when you return. You can also just stack some lumber across the bowl to keep them out.(some short 1x4/1x6 right on the bowl, not the lid)

Since you have cameras, you're maintaining an internet, a WIFI thermostat will allow you to control and monitor the interior temp. I'd get one right away.

If you have hotwater baseboard, you need to leave your well on as there is a fill valve for your heating system. This means you have to just pour some RV fluid in the toilet and monitor the temp. Hope for the best and have someone lined up that can come in and assess the problem. When we added on to the house, we added hot water baseboard heating.

I also agree that 50 is too low. I leave mine at 63 but I have remote control. If it gets super cold out, I will turn the system up. I want the water in the baseboards to circulate. Anti-freeze in the heating system also works but wrecks the efficiency, shrug.

[John41]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

Put plumbing antifreeze in toilets and traps
We use Blink cameras
Turn off water
Open cabinet doors under sinks
Put heat tape on exposed pipes

[Bugface]

Thinking main concern would be freezing pipes. At our place in Maine we turn water off (we have electric hot water heater so also breaker that off). We leave internet on so can check/control thermostats and temp (Ecobee, like we have in TV). These can be set to send you a notification if temp drops. Doesn’t help though in case of power and internet outage together. If you have a monitored alarm system, most modern ones use a separate cell radio and is inexpensive to add a low temp sensor. This will work even if internet is out. (Assuming you have someone in Maine who has access and can go by if needed). We do not drain toilets, etc, but we do open all bathroom cabinets that have piping running through, and under sink kitchen cabs to make certain heated air can get in.
Outside faucets unless frost proof obviously drain and blow out.
If this is first time for you, IMHO might be taking a chance at 50 degrees...might be low unless you’re certain very well insulated home.
Also having someone checking place every few days is not enough to catch frozen pipes before damage is done. Making certain temps don’t get cold enough is best way.
An automatic backup generator will also help you sleep better.
Welcome to TV!

[Malsua]

Put plumbing antifreeze in toilets and traps
We use Blink cameras
Turn off water
Open cabinet doors under sinks
Put heat tape on exposed pipes

You're correct. Traps too. We used to do that as well, but it's been 10+ years and I forgot that one. Our house was heated by a fireplace. It got to ambient inside of a day or two. Every winter we'd lose a pipe here or there. Pex became the savior as it can freeze and not burst. It doesn't get a million cycles of freeze/thaw but if you forget something, chances are it won't burst.

[Decadeofdave]

You can buy a skylink with heat sensor _ will dial you at a set temp.
I used one for our cottage for 10 years, northern tool I believe is where I purchased it. ----- 50 degrees is too low to set your heat, some laminated surfaces can delaminate

[karostay]

Have your local plumber drain everything put no burst in you heating system sink toilet shower dish washer washing machine also add if your heat is baseboard
Turn your heat and hot water off

Fill water bottle 1/2 full freeze on it's side stand up in freezer when you return if it had melted contents will be at bottom of bottle
That's what we have been doing for over 10 years . Our home is in Maine

[FenneyFanatic]

I've got Nest thermostats on both floors in my home in Hampden, ME and can check and adjust temps from Fenney at any time..:)

[vintageogauge]

Get a temperature controlled extension cord and plug a lamp into it that you can place in a window that a friend or neighbor can see come on if the temp in your home goes below what you set it at. Personally I would just turn off the water, put plastic wrap over the toilet seats so that the water doesn't evaporate, set your heat at 66 degrees and don't worry about anything else. If your friend or neighbor sees the lamp on they will know that your heating system failed and can then do whatever you asked them to do. We had a summer home in northern Ohio and everyone in that complex did exactly that and there were times over the years that the lamps came on in some of the homes.

[tophcfa]

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.

[Cheapbas]

We have forced hot water. I plan to lower the temps to high 50s, shut off water supply as I believe the heat is a closed end system. Open all cabinets under sinks, WiFi thermostats and cameras. Your cameras will probably need to be reset from time to time so you’ll need someone who can get into the house.

[oemsp1]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

Cold here too.

[Rwirish]

Someone in Maine should know what to do. Check with folks in Houlton.

[Skunky1]

I thought migration south had been canceled

[Papa_lecki]

I have an additional house in a cold climate (about 3 hours from my primary house). Two weeks ago, i checked NEST thermostat app, and the heater was not kicking on. Temperature in the house was dropping. Had to drive up and meet HVAC guy - turns out a zone board was shot.

Highly recommend NEST or some other wifi thermostat.

[Puddin]

After turning off the water I always manually turn off the ice maker in the refrigerator. Without water pressure the ice maker can try to make ice and create a frozen mess

[Igolf]

If you have an automatic ice maker make sure arm is up so it does not call for water. Have a neighbor or someone come in and pour water down your drains about once a month to prevent sewer gas build up.

[RobertWR]

Not necessarily a winter help but we cover our toilets with a plastic wrap to prevent the water in the bowl from evaporating.

[vinricci]

Better still, stay there. Too crowded here. LOL

[La lamy]

It's been said once on this thread but just a reminder, to keep the fridge and freezer doors open if you're unplugging them. Otherwise it'll be a mold nightmare.

[Catalina36]

I live up north and recently purchased a home in TV and I am also leaving for the Villages 1st week of January. I recently googled about winterizing your home when leaving for several months. One suggestion was to pour some mineral oil in the sink drains and toilet bowls to keep the water from evaporating. I guess the oil coats the top of the water and seals it to prevent evaporating. I read some suggestions, to pour some of the pink RV fluid in the drains and bowls to prevent freezing. Not sure if that would prevent the water from evaporating??

[camaguey48]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?
What do your neighbors in Maine do? Have you asked them? I believe that's who you should ask.

[elevatorman]

Best idea is to sell and don't go back.

[tsmall22204]

Why are you asking people in Florida about winterizing a
Maine house? Ask those in Maine. Really!!

[msilagy]

I do not flush out toilets however I cover the bowls with Saran Wrap. I am gone from Oct 15 thru May 1. The water is still at the same level when I return. I open all cupboards. I leave heat on 55 degrees. No experience with a well. I shut off water and open faucets to let drain but not much comes out. I do not leave a faucet open as I am concerned if somehow the water came on it would run which is very unlikely to happen - it's just my comfort level. I have a monitor that tells me the temperature all times of the day on my phone/computer and will alert me if the temperature drops below 45 degrees. Also turn off water heater. Oh and pay no mind to some of the short rude answers - you are asking the right people here in the villages as they are the ones winterizing a home up north if they are not full time here.......just goes to show you jerks are everywhere! Good luck!

[Dilligas]

Sell it ! ?

[camaguey48]

Why are you asking people in Florida about winterizing a
Maine house? Ask those in Maine. Really!!
Agree.

[Larchap49]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

First get help from someone local who knows what they are doing. Install a smart thermostat that you can monitor from your phone, tablet or computer. Have someone check the home on a regular basis. Etc etc

[Villages Kahuna]

Put anti-freeze in your toilets and sink traps.

[BruDon]

Don’t forget the washer. Drain and winterize!

[justjim]

Snowbird for several years from Illinois with no problems. You already got a lot of good advice. Just emphasize two things. We set our thermostat at 65 degrees and paid someone to visit every week to check on things and report via email. We insisted on paying because we wanted to make everybody happy and responsible. We did the same (housewatch) when we go back north in the summer. It really paid for itself when our AC went out a few years ago. Good luck and enjoy...

[dicksiggy]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

We are from Saint Albans Maine. We have been doing this for 28 years now. All we have ever done is shut off well pump, drain hot water heater, winterize with RV anti-freeze, shut off electricity. We get back in May and not once have we ever had a problem.

[DAVES]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?


I would suggest you ask in Maine. Toilets? I'm not sure what you are saying or thinking.
People usually add an anti freeze solution to the toilet as your toilet has a trap in it that blocks out sewer gas. If, you simply flush the toilet and drain the tank you may well freeze and crack the trap. Leave the heat on at 50. Your heating system either gas or oil or????? Uses electricity to light and to circulate the heat. Should your electricity go out.

Teasing a bit-Why you should ask in Maine. Finding the proper antifreeze to use in Maine toilets, in Florida, is about the same as finding a snow shovel.

[Curtisbwp]

There are hundreds of snow birds here. I have a home in Harrison Maine.

[Rlheinz19@yahoo.com]

I had to reread as I thought you said "moose traps". Lol

[dadoiron]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

Hope someone is feeding your Camara's. I hear they get very hungry.😂🤣😅

[THUNDERCHIEF]

Talk to a plumber in your area. They can give you better advice than people in the villages

[MandoMan]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

My girlfriend’s brother has a house on Great Diamond Island a couple miles by ferry from Portland. He hires a handyman to winterize his house, which he leaves unheated all winter. (Are you sure you will NOT lose power for several days in Maine in the winter?) this includes blowing air through the pipes and all that. It’s not hard, but you have to know how and do it in the right order. I think he pays about $200. You can also get a plumber to do it. Many thousands of people in Maine have this done, including those with summer cabins.

[rphil11ort]

Recommend you have the pipes blown out. If not you could get breaks In Low areas

[rphil11ort]

Recommend you have the pipes blown out. If not you could get breaks In Low areas and the heating system too

[oneclickplus]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?

Great replies here and hopefully you have heard what you need. I'm just stunned that just a couple of days before leaving Maine for the winter, you are asking how to do what you should have planned weeks ago. You may not have enough time.

[jabacon6669]

Thanks for all the info, including critics, I have a good sense of humor. We do have a lot of things in place, and was just making sure we haven't forgot anything. Waiting till the last week was intentional, and not a problem. We have a heat pump and baseboard FHW, fueled with propane. 55 degrees seems to be a good temp. We have a Nest thermostat with two external monitors, one in basement, one in rear bath, so we can monitor the house temps from afar. We also have a whole house generator, with a auto on when power goes out. Again we can monitor that afar, as does our generator company, only $50/yr for that well worth it. We will shut down our water supply and add RV antifreeze to toilets and all traps, just in case. We will leave the frighted running but shut off ice maker. Cameras can also be monitored from afar. Relatives in area will also check the house occasionally. I think we got it covered. Again, Thanks to All, Happy Holidays to All.

[tophcfa]

Sounds like you got it covered, Merry Christmas and safe travels : )

[Smilingfeelsgood]

Moving to TV right after Christmas. Looking for some advise on what we need to do to winterize our home in Maine till we return inMay. We're turning our heat down to fifty. We have three Camara's monitoring the house. Should we flush the toilets out and leave the faucets open. We plan on shutting off our well pump, not sure if this is recommended. Any suggestions?
For my home in Maine I had a Honeywell interactive thermostat installed. I can adjust the heat up or down from my cell phone. Also, be warned if temp is too hi, too low, or communication is lost, a power failure. Tells me when power is restored as well. Don't forget your home alarm system and your ring camera. All things to keep you home safe, warm and cozy for your return in May. Happy Holidays!

[Spsmith444]

One suggestion I didn’t see is if your hot water heater has a vac (vacation) setting that is an option to consider vs shutting it down. Will b heading down from KC on New Year’s Day. 😊

[cj1040]

Because those still in Maine did not leave for several months....they are still in Maine !!!