Q. We want to winterize our home for our two-month trip to Florida. Is it practical to turn off all the heat? We can drain all the pipes, the water heater, well pressure tank and hose bibs. Should we put auto anti-freeze or potable R.V. type anti-freeze in shower, tubs, sinks and toilet drains?

Another question, how about the dishwasher and clothes washer? Is there residual water that might freeze and cause damage? What about other items around the house that might be damaged by freezing, i.e. paint, glues, etc? We are asking because, in the past, we have left the house heated by our oil furnace setting of 45 - 50 degrees F. Our concern is the possibility of a winter storm causing the loss of electric power that would result in damage to the plumbing system of our home. Any advice you can provide us would be appreciated.

A. Your concerns are well founded about leaving a home for an extended period during cold weather with respect to a possible power outage allowing the inside of the home to drop below freezing with disastrous results. About a decade ago we had a spate of ice storms that drove people out of their homes because the power went out and they had no heat or water (those on wells). The mistake many of them made was to just leave and not take the precautions you mention prior to exiting. Even though they didn’t leave town, when the lights went back on and they returned home, many of them came home to disasters as pipes froze and burst. When the well pumps cycled back on they pushed water through the broken pipes until the owners got back home to turn them off. It was a mess.

However the degree of winterization that you outline is the most drastic and I usually see that being done in dwellings that have been repossessed by banks or the government where they hire a plumber to come in and do all that plus other things then the electrical power to the house is interrupted for the duration. I understand the economics of why this is done but I shake my head at what seems to me utter stupidity for the protection of the property as an investment. Houses are de-powered then locked up tighter than a drum and abandoned. It doesn’t take long for something to go wrong and with no-one looking after things or systems to cycle on when a sensed condition occurs, the resulting damage can be massive. The worst I remember was in fact during the summer when a house was so winterized as it’s called-- power off and locked up. It poured rain, the gutters overflowed, water got into the basement, the sump didn’t work and by the time I walked in the mold was thick and all the way to the second level. It was totaled.

Even in winter, if the inside of the house cools way down and then we have a couple of balmy days, warm, moist outside air will migrate into the house through natural infiltration, condense and that’s the source of the musty smell closed up houses get. It’s something to avoid.

For the house to freeze and blow the hoses off the clothes-washer or break the intake valves of the dishwasher we’d have to have weather cold enough where the inside of the house would get down to 25ºF or less and that’s what we had last week so it’s a reasonable concern.

I recommend that you do as you’ve done in the past and turn the oil heat down to 55ºF. Shut the water off to the plumbing system—if you’re on well water just flip the switch off to the well pump. Turn the water heater off at the electric panel and I pour a small amount of bleach into each toilet bowl and sink and shower drain trap so they don’t go sour while I’m gone. Then either prevail upon a friend or neighbor to keep an eye on things or retain a plumber or home improvement contractor to come by and check on things, especially after any heavy weather. Don’t overlook the simple security steps the lack of which might advertise to roving burglars that the house isn’t occupied. Some lights on, newspaper and mail suspended etc. If you have a monitored security system-- that’s good. If you don’t—now is the time to consider one. If not for anti-theft then for fire. It’s cheap insurance.