Closing up a house

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OSUTRIKERS

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I've seen some checklists etc, dealing closing a house for winter while traveling, however I have a question.  I've its best to turn off water at the curb to eliminate someone turning on a faucet. If you do this, what do you you do with hit water tank, just turn it off or drain and turn off?  Do you typically leave furnace on at a specific temp, such as 45 or 50 with cabinets open?  Thanks
 
In my case I must have the water company shut off my service at the curb or continue to be charged a substantial minimum water and sewer bill each month. I do not drain the hot water tank, just turn it off. We leave the furnace set at 50 and put our cable service on seasonal hold.
 
We are on a well so we turn off the pump and relax the pressure in the house by running a tub full of water and let it drain.  We turn the water heater to pilot and set the thermostat to 50 or 55.  We keep the house warm to stop thermal cycling which can damage the drywall by having nails etc.. pull loose.  I put a little vegetable oil in the toilet bowls to stop evaporation and do the same in the sinks.  RV antifreeze would also work.

We have done this for over 10 years with no issues.
 
I'm on a well and have a oil fired boiler. I keep the thermostat set at 50 degrees. I did a little piping mod which allows me to shut the water off in the entire house down but I keep the pressure regulating valve charged with water from the pump just in case the baseboard system should loose it's pressure. I have solar hot water system and I cover the collectors with a tarp so they're not working for nothing. I shut off any rooms I don't want to heat and open any cabinets that have any water piping. I don't put anything in the toilets. I'm only gone for 4 month so I can't see the 1 1/2 quarts of water in the bowl evaporating.
 
If we have the city shut off our water at the curb, we don't pay water or trash while we're gone. We turn off the hot water but don't drain it. We empty and shut off the refrigerator. And we turn the thermostat down to 48.
 
Our fine city mandates that the house have water service and that you pay the minimum fee whether the meter moves or not, just over $120 every 2 months. They also require that you have year around garbage service at $73 every 2 months. We encourage the neighbors to clean their garages while we're gone and use our can, since we pay for it anyway.

In the winter our toilets don't lose much water, but in the summer they are bone dry after 2 months if we don't have the neighbor come thru and flush them monthly. This is in the PNW, I can't imagine how long a hot climate would last.

Ken
 
We shut the water off at the curb and the house drain and blow the whole house with air, use RV antifreeze in the washing machine, dish washer and all the traps. Set the heat to 45 and say goodbye, if the heat goes out no big deal with it in May.

Denny
 
On my house the meter and shut off valves were in the basement (There is also a shut off at the curb) So I turned it off there, yes, drain the Water heater and shut it off as well.
 
Since we live in Florida, our situation is somewhat the opposite: closing up the house while we are away for the summer. We leave the a/c on at 88 degrees,  to keep humidity down and limit excess heat build-up. Water is turned off inside the house itself - I installed  a shut-off just for that - but outside faucets remain on for emergency use. Water heater is off but remains full.

We cover the toilet bowls with plastic wrap so they don't evaporate to nothing and leave the trap dry, and also leave a few inches of water in the toilet tank so the seals & flapper valves stay moist.  If I don't do that, they often require replacement when we return.

We used to turn the fridge off, but our new refrigerator had two successive failures which were attributed to corrosion caused by lack of cycling, so on the advice of the service techs we now we leave it on at a fairly warm setting. It is empty except for some water jugs (also recommended to help stabilize temp). I don't really understand why this is necessary when our older fridge never had an issue over a dozen years, but we do it to avoid more costly repairs.

Biggest thing: Make sure the house insurance is up to date!
 
I turn the water off at the street, drain the water heater, and blow out the lines. I set an ac for 85 an use a couple of oil filled electric heaters set low. Actually did this two years ago (we live in the country) and stay in the rv for the week or two a year that we are actually there.

Ernie
 
We turn off the power to the well pump & water heater.  We don't drain the water heater.  We turn the thermostat down to 55 degrees.  This year I'm going to put some RV antifreeze in the traps & toilets.  I also use a freeze alarm which is programmed to call my neighbor's phone & my cell phone in case the temperature in the house drops to 45 degrees.
 
Leaving the Thermostats set at say 50 or so is all well and fine for those of you that are on Natural Gas or Electric heat. What about those of us that are on Propane and 1 tank will not last the winter, and with a LONG driveway there's no way to get more, then WHAT?
 
Cant Wait said:
Leaving the Thermostats set at say 50 or so is all well and fine for those of you that are on Natural Gas or Electric heat. What about those of us that are on Propane and 1 tank will not last the winter, and with a LONG driveway there's no way to get more, then WHAT?
Click to expand...

I have someone plow the driveway just so it looks lived in. I have two 125# tanks because I have a standby generator. Have the propane company install a second tank. Part way through the winter, have someone go in and check the level of the tanks. I would highly recommend you have someone plow.
 
With our driveway, it's about 1800' long and the last 800' is about a 7% grade down to the house. Even when plowed the propane truck has issues getting out of the driveway. We use wood heat so that they only need to deliver once a year now, and we have a 500gl. tank. Having someone plowing the driveway is not feasible really with the snow we get here in Western NY. 
 
You can either put in another 500 gallon tank or how about having someone house sit while you're gone. Maybe a relative or a son/daughter of a close friend. I would not rent it out.  You say plowing the driveway is not feasible, how do you do it now? Do you snowmobile in and out?
 
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