As temperatures drop, snowbirds are preparing to swap snowboards for surfboards and join our feathered friends in the exodus for warmer climates for a few months. It?s a great life if you?ve got it like that.
If you?re a snowbird, I know you?re giddy to go just thinking about the warm sun washing over your chilly self when you reach your destination.
But, are you adequately preparing your home to be left alone in the cold?
Draping all the furniture under king-size sheets and redirecting the mail cannot be all that you do when “closing up the house for the winter.”
Get one good pipe freezing cold ? snap! ? and the dust-free sleigh bed is a water bed.
The biggest challenges to a home?s safety are water, fire and burglars.
As you make your predeparture plans, I recommend creating a three-column home checklist with the major headings: water, fire, burglars.
These are the preventive safety moves to take.
It?s not a “who to call if ?” instruction list you leave behind for a trusted neighbor or family member. That?s separate.
In the water column, check all outside spigots and water pipes that lead into your house.
Turn off the water supply to those lines from inside the house and open the outside spigot to drain the line.
Leave the spigot turned to the open position so no water would be left in the pipeline to freeze.
Insulate any bare outside water pipes securely with a foam sleeve or other insulation material.
Dress the water supply lines inside the house with an insul-ation sleeve.
If you?ve ever been troubled with slow-moving water in your house during a freezing spell, invest in an electric tape strapto wrap the basement pipes to keep them warm while you are away.
And don?t turn the heat completely off.
An important precaution for older and detached homes with uninsulated basements is to leave a faucet open at the lowest part of the house with a very thin stream of water running.
This is to prevent water from freezing in the supply line under the theory that moving water seldom freezes.
On your last night at home, you roasted marshmallows in the fireplace.
In the fire column, did you include cleaning out the firebox, checking that all embers were completely burned out before discarding them? Warm embers in a confined space can slowly build to a full-on fire after you?re gone.
Have you unplugged appliances?
Officially stopping the mail through the post office sometimes is not enough to keep it from piling up and signaling your absence to the opportunists.
Install a mail slot in your door so mail is delivered inside.
Have a neighbor collect ad circulars from the lawn and porch daily. Stagger the pattern of your programmable lights. Install outdoor motion-sensor lights.
There?s more, but it will occur to you as you do this list.
So fly away, little snowbirds.
If a back-home call comes to interrupt your poolside roost, it won?t be because of something you didn?t do.
IF YOUR PIPES FREEZE
Check the furnace first, and if it is on but not working, turn it off before beginning any defrosting attempts.
The hot water line may be frozen, and a different defrosting procedure will be required.
For typical cold water line freezes:
» Get the room warm with a space heater.
» Check under sink cabinets for drafts of cold air. Leave the cabinet doorsopen. (Later you will identify and fix any air entry sources and wrap all uninsulated pipes.)
» Turn on all hot- and cold-water faucets.
» Defrost the pipes slowly.
» Apply heat to the supply line by either wrapping it with electrical pipe tape or heavy towels soaked in hot water or using a hair dryer.
» If using a hair dryer, do not focus the heat steadily on one spot. Keep the dryer moving to prevent pressure build up from the ice.
» Begin heating the pipe along the end closest to where the pipe comes into the wall.
Allegra Bennett has covered cops, courts and politics as a journalist for national newspapers for 21 years. She is also the author of three books, publisher of Renovating Woman ? “The Do-It-Herself magazine” ? and is a home repair expert on “Home Made Easy” on the DIY cable network. Got questions? E-mail your question to [email protected]
