Winterizing a vacant home

[aaabbb]

I need some advice on winterizing a vacant home that is currently being renovated. I plan on keeping the heat on since contractors will be working on the home periodically during the day but I would like to turn the water off whenever water isn't needed for peace of mind. Since I am leaving the heat on, do I need to blow out the lines after turning the water off, or would opening up each faucet and purging them of water be sufficient? I also need to know what to do with the gas water heater. Does the water heater need to be turned off and drained, or would putting it in "vacation mode" be sufficient? I also have a question about the toilets. Is there any reason why I would need to put antifreeze in the toilets if I'm leaving the heat on? Since I have a septic tank, I really don't want to flush antifreeze into the system each time I have to turn the water back on. I have a freeze alarm on site so I seriously doubt that the temperature in the house will ever go down low enough to freeze the water in the toilets.

Temperatures have been dipping down into the teens at night so I really think winterizing the house will give me some peace of mind. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Smooky]

You should be fine if you leave the heat on low. I would turn off the hot water heater or turn it way down. If you have any exposed water pipes in places that are not in a heated space such as at the well head, in outside walls, in the attic or under the crawl space you could leave a faucet dripping or turn off and drain the water. Toilets and p-traps should be fine as long as the heat is on. If you want to protect these items in case of a power failure you could pour a little antifreeze in drains to protect p-traps. You would want to pour a little in the toilet tank and bowl. There is non-toxic antifreeze if that is a concern. It is sold as RV-antifreeze. You can find it at places that sell RV supplies such as the car section at w-mart. RV-antifreeze is made out of Propylene Glycol and cheaper brands are blends with salt brines or alcohol. For most pipes the cheap stuff is fine. The blend with alcohol can be hard on rubber O-rings, washers and toilet flappers etc.

 

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[Standardairconditioner]

This may apply to you:

https://terrylove.com/forums/index....utoff-at-inside-water-meter-sufficient.63621/

 

[Cacher_Chick]

If you maintain the building heat so it stays above freezing where the piping and fixtures are, you won't have to do anything, which seem like a lot less trouble.