Recommendations to “Partially” or “Completely” Winterize:
Anyone that does not live in their residence full-time, and those full-time residents who leave for extended periods of time, these owners should consider “partially” winterizing. “Partial” winterizing precautions can include, but are not limited to, turning off water in the residence, even in the Summer months. It only takes a few minutes to turn off the water and, if a leak/break does occur, the only amount of water that can potentially leak out will be what is actually in the lines at the time.
We advise our residents to start a “complete” winterization on Labor Day weekend and don’t stop until after Memorial Day weekend. While we don’t expect temperatures to drop low enough to freeze pipes early in the Fall, most of you will find that visits to your house will be few, if none at all, before Thanksgiving. Many owners will leave after Labor Day with the intention of returning to winterize before Winter sets in, only to find that “all of a sudden” they are hearing that snow is falling in the mountains, and they realize they failed to Winterize. See recommendations below to “completely” winterize.
Recommendations For Winterizing Your Residence:
BLSMWC strongly recommends that all homeowners winterize their cabins to prevent costly repairs and avoid unnecessary water charges.
- Insulate exposed water pipes under the cabin and any exposed service lines outside. A watertight box should cover outside insulation. (Wet insulation loses its insulating value.)
- When closing the cabin, shut off the water at your shut-off valve at the house AND in your shareholder box on the street. (Please do not use the BLSMWC shut-off located in the meter box.) If you do not have a shutoff in the shareholder box, we recommend having one installed.
- Turn off electricity to the hot water heater. Be sure the hot water heater is full of water before restoring energy.
- Drain lines by opening the drain valve that should be at the lowest point in the system. (If you have no drain valve, you should install one.)
- Open all inside faucets (kitchen, bathroom, service room, etc., including shower risers).
- Open all outside hose bibs and relieve all vacuum breakers if so equipped.
- Please DO NOT let water run in order to prevent freezing since this wastes water.
The above recommendations are provided for educational and informational purposes only and shall not be construed as guarantees of any particular outcome. BLSMWC expressly disclaims any liability for damages, breakage, or failures occurring on the shareholder’s side of the water meter that arise from adherence to or deviation from these recommendations.
