4 Tips to Properly Winterize Your Cabin
After spending a number of blissfully relaxing getaways at your cabin in the woods during the summer and early autumn, it’s time to close up your cozy little vacation home for the winter.
In order to ensure that your lovely vacation abode stays safe and dry this winter, consider the following cabin closing to-do list.
1. Leave the Heat on Very Low
While you might be tempted to turn off the electricity and water to save money, The Hartford notes that keeping your cabin at an even temperature can help prevent more expensive issues from popping up, like frozen pipes. Consider keeping the heat on a very low setting in your cabin; this will help ensure that the pipes do not break in sub-freezing weather and that appliances will continue to work properly.
2. Install an Upgraded Security System
Unfortunately, you are probably not the only one who knows it’s time to close down your cabin for the winter. Criminals are also aware that many vacation homes will not see any action until next spring, which can make these properties prime spots for burglary. In order to give yourself peace of mind and monitor your cabin during the winter, consider installing a new security camera system that will help protect your home. Lorex sells security camera systems that can be installed both inside and out; this way, by using the Lorex app, you can also monitor your cabin from afar and check that there haven’t been any unexpected accidents indoors like a plumbing issue. As a bonus, the security cameras can pick up footage of interesting wild animals that roam your property during the winter; you and your family may get a kick out of watching the deer that hang out on your front lawn or the moose that visited during the night.
3. Clean Up the Outside
Depending on how remote your cabin is and how much landscaping you have, you will need to tackle a number of outside cleaning, mowing and raking projects prior to saying goodbye to your cabin until next year. Cabin Life suggests mowing the lawn one last time, raking and removing all of the leaves that are within at least 30 feet of your cabin, cleaning out the gutters, and cleaning and storing away all equipment like fire pit decorations, the BBQ and the water toys that are used in the nearby lake. If you plan on leaving your lawnmower at the cabin, winterize it and other equipment by checking out this guide from Popular Mechanics. For instance, remove the gas by siphoning it out of the mower and then start the lawn mower and let it run until it is completely out of fuel.
4. Prepare Your Cabin for Bad Weather
If your cabin is likely to get lots of snow, strong winds or even a hurricane during the off season, take steps to protect it before you leave for the winter. You can install shutters so that the windows are not damaged by pelting freezing rain and wind; if you add some window plastic, the interior will stay warmer, too. Also, take a look around the property and see if there are any tree limbs that could hit the home in the case of a bad storm; if there are, consider removing them, and also be sure to tie down or store away anything that might become a missile in a bad storm — the BBQ that you use often during the summer might be better off kept in a shed.
From preventing frozen pipes and installing a security camera to cleaning up the exterior and preparing for bad weather, these tips to properly winterize your place will help you rest assured that you will return to a dry and safe vacation home next spring.
