I just purchased a home that was winterized while it was vacant. I will need to un-winterize it. Is it just a matter of turning the main valve back on and turning on a faucet? There is antifreeze (I think.. it's red) present in the toilet. I don't want to have it explode on me if I don't do it carefully and correctly. I'm handy, but in a remove and replace sort of way.

If house was winterized properly, you should be in good shape. Make sure that all faucets are off, and the drain for the water heater is closed(as well as any other drains, hose bibbs etc. Make sure no accessible pipes were disconnected during winterization. Turn the main water on slowly and go around to all fixtures and make sure there are no leaks. Once pressure stabalizes, go to each fixture and run water until no more air comes out. Flush toilets and make sure to leave a hot faucet open until all the air is bled from the water heater. Good luck and please let us know how things go.

OK, thank you! I take possession on March 19th, and I will keep you informed. I'll more than likely need more help and I really like this forum.

Glad to help. Keep us posted and come on back for any further questions. Lee.

Lee gave you excellent advice Let me add a bit.
To winterize a cabin or summer vacation home I would recommend draining the water heater and blowing out the water lines, filling all the traps with motor oil or anti-freeze Drain thr toilet tank and pouring a gallon or so of anti-freeze into each toilet until it flushed away the water and retained the anti-freeze in the trap. Good luck. Tom

I wanted to let you folks know I am in the house and all went relatively uneventful. Had a few leaks to take care of and there was so much crud in the pipes, the screens in 3 of the faucets were so clogged there was no water coming out. I'm having a plumber come out and replace everything. It's a 100 yr old house and the pipes reflect that. He is recommending Pax. Again, thanks for all the help!

Thanks for the update, and yes, replacing the old water pipes with pex is a great idea. Im guessing your old water lines are galvanized.

To winterize a cabin or summer vacation home I would recommend draining the water heater and blowing out the water lines, filling all the traps with motor oil or anti-freeze

Really? Motor Oil? :confused: Isn't that one of the things you shouldn't be sending into the sewers? Or your septic system?


What I've done, which seems to work out, is put in RV antifreeze (the pink stuff), sprayed the area above the waterline in toilet bowls with Lysol to prevent mildew, and cover the drain (in case of a shower or sink) or the toilet bowl with plastic cling wrap, to prevent the antifreeze from drying out/evaporating. After 6 months, the antifreeze is still in there, sealing the sewer gasses out of the house. Perhaps it's overkill; but what do I know - I'm not a plumber...

Really? Motor Oil? Isn't that one of the things you shouldn't be sending into the sewers? Or your septic system?Motor oil, cooking oil or anti-freeze. Less then a few cups full a trap isn't going to hurt your septic system. But you've done a great job of winterizing your place. Tom

Really? Motor Oil? :confused: Isn't that one of the things you shouldn't be sending into the sewers? Or your septic system?


What I've done, which seems to work out, is put in RV antifreeze (the pink stuff), sprayed the area above the waterline in toilet bowls with Lysol to prevent mildew, and cover the drain (in case of a shower or sink) or the toilet bowl with plastic cling wrap, to prevent the antifreeze from drying out/evaporating. After 6 months, the antifreeze is still in there, sealing the sewer gasses out of the house. Perhaps it's overkill; but what do I know - I'm not a plumber....

I would definitely recommend against motor oil. The RV antifreeze is REALLY good. It's propylene glycol-based, which is readily biodegradable in a septic/sewer system.

I'm not sure about the laws, but my wife and I have been looking at a bunch of winterized cabins in Minnesota this winter. They've all been using RV antifreeze.