A house is winterized during the cold months to protect it from damage that can be caused by the extreme winter weather. Winterizing is especially significant if the home will be unoccupied for a long-time during winter. If you want to return to a house that has been winterized, you must de-winterize it first to make it livable. Spring is almost here and now is the best time to prepare your home for the warmer weather.
How to De-winterize your Home
Clean the gutters
Winter is a damaging season for the exterior of your home; therefore, it is best to get winter damage repairs done by A to Z Construction. If you plan on doing the small repairs by yourself, consider starting with the gutter. Get a ladder and check to see if there is any debris in the gutters. Get rid of as much trash as you can using your hands and remove the other debris using a garden hose.
De-winterize the pipes
The major way in which a house is winterized is by preparing the plumbing system. Many homeowners turn off the water supplies in the house and make sure that the pipes are empty. They then incorporate some traps into the faucets, sinks, and drains. However, some owners prefer having a professional install an antifreeze in the pipes when winterizing. It can be hard to turn on the water after winterizing a home. But the good news is that some basic tips can help you de-winterize the plumbing system in your home:
- Ensure that all the tub, sinks, toilet, and washing machine faucets are off
- Remove aerators from the faucets and drains
- Turn off the power
- Open the water heater valve as well as the water supply valve
- Gradually turn on the main water supply line
- Allow the water heater tank to fill with water prior to restoring the power
- Slowly turn on the sink, toilet, and tub faucets
- Check to see if there are any leaks
Plug in all appliances
unplugging all the appliances is a common way to winterize a home. To de-winterize the house, you will need to plugin these essential appliances back into the electric circuits. Before plugging the appliances back to the outlet, you must make sure that the outlets are dry.
Turn on the gas
Usually, homeowners turn off the natural gas when winterizing the home. But now you will need to turn it back on. You will do this to restore the gas supply throughout the house. In some places, when the weather is too low, and the furnace must run at low temperatures, the main gas supply to the house might still be open; however, there are individual fixtures that might have their local valves closed, open all these valves.
The Bottom Line
By now, you have now done almost everything to return to your home. All that is left is to declutter your home, reprogram your alarm system and the thermostat, and light any standing pilot. De-winterizing your home can be a difficult process, but it must be done. It is significant when it comes to the long-term life of the home. Additionally, properly de-winterizing your home for spring will help you avoid some financial headaches in the future.
