Winterizing a cabin?

[frazwood]

I would like to winterize our cabin, something that I have never done before. I was hoping that I could get a few helpful suggestions and/or comments from here.

So far, this is what I have done:

1. Had the city shut off the water. I then cut the main copy pipe coming into the house (I doubt that this was necessary, but I want to replace the shut-off valve that's currently there).

2. Opened up all of the faucets and then drained the hot water heater, giving it at least 2 hours to drain (I didn't keep track of time; I was busy doing something else).

3. I hooked up my air compressor to the outdoor spigot and I blew out the water lines further (a little more water came out, not much).

4. I drained the tanks on the toilets.

5. I poured RV antifreeze down all of the drains and toilets.

One question that my wife had when I got home was about the refrigerator. It has a water supply line to it. Do I need to blow that out also?

Any other advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

[Tom7227]

Are you going to turn off all the heat?

I would disconnect the ice maker line and let it drain out. I don't know how you would get any water left inside the unit out.

If you are going to maintain a lower heat then there's two things to consider. First would be to get a digital thermostat which will allow you to drop the heat to 45 or so instead of the 60 degree lowest setting on the old fashioned ones.

I would also consider installing a device that will set off an alarm or light a lamp if the temp gets below a certain point. A thread a little while ago said they were available at big box stores for about $25. Of course that would require that someone be nearby and able to monitor it for you - and remember that if there's a red light showing in your cabin they should call you.

Put out a lot of mouse bait to keep the critters in check.

Be sure to put some RV antifreeze in any basement drains you have as well as the shower.

[frazwood]

Thanks Tom. I put RV antifreeze in the tub drain, but not the basement drain -- I'll definitely do that.

We were planning on having the heat shut off entirely.

The place is already loaded with D-Con. The mice invaded a month ago...

Thanks again!

[BoxMN]

I'd put some antifreeve in the toilet tank as well. Not to fill it, but to have some in the bottom.

We used to put our pillows/sheets/etc in plastic tubs, never had any mouse poooops in them.

Of course, get rid of all food, unplug the freezer and clean it. Leave the doors open on fridge and freezer so they don't mold up, but you will most likely have mouse poooops in there to clean in the spring. The better you clean it now, the fewer mouse will try to find food in it.

good luck! We now use ours all winter so no more winterizing it for us

[CRAZYEYES]

Get some mouse magic. They look like little hand warmers you just set them out everywhere. They work great, No more green deacon mouse [PoorWordUsage]. Also every sprin and fall we go through a lot of bug stop. The ants, asian beatles and bees will exploit every dry spot they can find.

[Walleye Guy]

Take all linens out of the drawers. Unplug the fridge/freezer and prop open the doors. Remove lint and lint trap from the dryer.

[Tom7227]

Why the lint and lint trap?

[Lund79]

I would guess it it so mice won't be able to take the lint and make nesting material out of it. You can't get all the lint off the screen.

[Agent Andy]

Leaving the fridge door open can cause it to sag making the door leak cold air in the spring when you start using it. To avoid the mold issue when leaving it shut all winter, wrinkle up newspaper and fill it as well as the freezer. The paper will absorb any left over moisture.