Larry D
New York
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Do we dare leave our house without heat this next winter
I can drain the water but im worried about the walls in the house. Its costing us $300.00 a month for heat. any suggestion besides selling.
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brirene
midwest
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Joined: 01/27/2007
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What is the lowest setting on your thermostat? Even if you only heat it to 38 or 40 degrees, that should prevent any major problems, provided everything operates as expected. That should cut your heating bills by some.
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bldrbuck
one or the other
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I would set the thermostat at 50 degrees and lock it there.
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mockturtle
WA
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We tried it once in an area that got down to -25 degrees F. Not a good idea. The wax gaskets in all three toilets froze and leaked when we turned the water on, one leaking through the ceiling. The vinyl flooring buckled slightly when we turned the heat on (this could have been avoided by heating very gradually and the floors did level back out OK) and a pipe in the basement ruptured because of some trapped water. After that, we left it heated to 55 degrees F. Didn't cost all that much. If you live in a damp climate, you will probably get mildew if you don't heat the house.
Note: We did drain the pipes and blow them out with an air compressor and also put RV antifreeze in the toilets & drains.
* This post was
edited 06/26/11 09:19pm by mockturtle *
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hittingtheroadagain
MA
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I was caretaker for a number of houses in a resort community in New England and we drained the water and shut off the heat for the winter and never had a problem. The ones that did leave the heat on would set them at 50 degrees. Much less worries with the water drained and the heat and electric off. No chance of the heat going out and having things freeze up.
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Surely can't cost that much to heat to about 40 degrees. If it gets cold enough that it DOES then that may be even MORE reason to leave it turned on. If you think about ALL of the little things in a home that can freeze, burst and cause a mess or damage the trouble alone might make it worthwhile.
Perfumes, loations, medications, canned goods in the cupboards, cleaning supplies, waxes, lubricants, glues, just to name a few.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi,
I'd blow out the lines and leave the heat set down fairly low.
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rockhillmanor
On the Road
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I wanted to do the same thing. I even went straight to the professionals to have them do it.....and they would NOT. They said they had tried it and the drywall goes south and if you have multiple levels they said it is impossible to guarantee that every line would be clear. Floors contract etc etc. I must have went to about 10 of them and they all said the same thing.
And leaving the heat on low, power outages can and do happen and will cause so much damage it really is not worth taking the chance.
I ended up selling my house.
We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
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kknowlton
southeast Idaho, formerly IL/WI border
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Selling may take a long time and end up costing you more than that $300/mo, considering the current market. We bought the house we're living in last summer, but weren't ready to put our other house on the market until this spring, so we lived in the old one and had the new-to-us one winterized by a plumber. He drained the HWH and the pressure tank (we're on a well), put antifreeze in all the traps & toilets (after draining the toilet tanks) and even in the dishwasher trap, and turned off the power to the well, HWH and pressure tank. Per his instructions, we also insulated and covered the well cap. We left the heat set to the low 50s. Then we hired a property manager to come in & check the house & property periodically, plus some relatives came over occasionally - so the house had someone checking on it at least every other week, usually more often. It worked out well. Should we be unable to sell or rent before winter, we'll do something similar with our old house.
Several pros also told us that leaving the heat completely off in the winter is a big mistake - similar things happening to drywall etc. as others have mentioned. In NY it can get COLD. I wouldn't chance it. Good luck.
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thecampingman
Wilmington, OH, USA
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If walls or flooring buckles when it freezes it's because there was moisture in there. It gives you an opportunity to find the leak and fix it before it causes fungus.
Look at Home Depot. Building supplies aren't stored indoors.
Canned goods won't freeze if you leave the cupboard doors shut. If you canned in glass jars, throw a blanket over them. Think about how things were when you were a kid. The house would go thru the freeze/thaw cycle every night!
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