My House is Winterized! What is Winterization?

Since we are currently "enjoying" a cold winter day (week), I thought it was very fitting to write a couple of posts on Winterization. 

It is always interesting when I arrive at an inspection to find signs on the windows and doors, as well as the water heater and all of the plumbing fixtures, proclaiming that the house has been "Winterized."

So, what is winterizing, why is it done, and when should it be done?

Winterizing is when a house is made ready to sit vacant so the plumbing system and components will not be affected by temperature extremes (so the pipes don't freeze). This process is usually performed when a house is expected to be vacant for a long period of time, possibly through the heating season, a.k.a winter. So the house will be sitting empty with no utilities, specifically,  no heat.

The process of winterizing will involve fully purging the entire plumbing system of water. This will usually include emptying the water heater, draining all of the piping, and filling the various fixtures with an anti-freeze solution. 

For a home inspector, winterization can mean one of two things: One, the house might still be winterized, meaning that no inspection of the plumbing-related components of the house can be completed. Or, two, it can mean that the house was winterized, but has been "de-winterized" (hopefully by a qualified plumbing contractor) and is "inspect-able."

But I'll talk more about what an inspector encounters at a winterized property in my next post!    

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Coming Up Next: My House is Winterized - Part 2: What an Inspector Encounters at a Winterized Property.