Winterize House Checklist: How to Close Up an Empty House for Winter

Every burst-pipe story starts the same way: the house was fine when everyone left. Water is what does the damage. A supply line that freezes and splits will run for days into an empty house before anyone notices. This checklist goes through the shutdown in order, from the main shutoff to the last walk-through, and it prints clean if you want a paper copy in the kitchen drawer. It covers both kinds of winter: the house that keeps some heat on, and the north-country cabin that goes fully cold.

First decision: heat on, or heat off?

Everything else on the list depends on this choice, so make it first.

The trap in the middle: leaving the heat on and the water on, and calling that winterized. A heated house with full pipes and nobody checking on it is one furnace failure away from the worst version of this story. Whichever column you pick, the water section below still applies.

Step 1 - Water: shut it off and get it out

Do this part slowly. It is most of the protection you're buying.

1. Shut off the water at the main valve - where the line enters the house, usually near the meter or pressure tank. If the house is on a well, switch off the pump breaker too.
2. Open every faucet, starting at the top floor and working down, hot and cold sides both. Leave them open so the lines drain and any water left behind has room to expand if it freezes.
3. Drain the low points. Open the drain valves or remove the plugs at the lowest spots in the system - often near the water heater, the pressure tank, or a basement utility sink. Supply lines that sag or run through crawl spaces hold water. If the system has a fitting for compressed air, blowing the lines clear gets the rest (irrigation systems in freeze country are almost always blown out, and most owners hire it done).
4. Flush every toilet until the tank and bowl stop refilling. Sponge or plunge remaining water out of the tank, or pour RV antifreeze into both tank and bowl.
5. Pour RV antifreeze into every drain trap - sinks, tubs, showers, floor drains, laundry standpipe. A cup or so per trap. Use only non-toxic propylene-glycol RV antifreeze (the pink jugs sold for potable systems), never automotive antifreeze, which is poisonous to kids, pets, and septic systems.
6. Washing machine: shut its valves, disconnect the supply hoses, and let them drain. For a full shutdown, many owners run a short drain cycle with RV antifreeze in the drum to protect the pump.
7. Dishwasher: the sump under the filter holds water year-round. For a full shutdown, a cup of RV antifreeze in the base is the usual protection.
8. Refrigerator water line and icemaker: shut the little saddle valve, disconnect and drain the line, dump the ice bin. This quarter-inch line is a common spring surprise.
9. Outdoor spigots (hose bibs): disconnect and drain every garden hose, shut interior shutoffs feeding exterior spigots if the house has them, then open the outside taps and leave them open. Foam covers are cheap protection for spigots that aren't frost-free.

Step 2 - Water heater

• Heat staying on, gone a few weeks: set a gas water heater to its vacation/pilot setting; switch an electric one off at the breaker. No need to drain.
• Full shutdown: turn off the gas or the breaker first - an electric element that fires in a dry tank destroys itself - then connect a hose to the tank drain, open a hot tap upstairs to break the vacuum, and drain the tank to a floor drain or outside.
• Tankless units have their own freeze-protection and draining procedures; follow the manufacturer's manual instead of guessing.

Step 3 - Heat, thermostat, and power

• If heat stays on, hold at least 55°F. That figure comes from insurer guidance for vacant homes, not from comfort. For a lived-in house in a cold snap, the Insurance Information Institute recommends at least 65°F, because the air inside outside walls, where the pipes run, is much colder than the room.
• Open cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks on exterior walls, so room heat reaches the pipes.
• Have the heating system serviced before departure, and top off propane or fuel oil - a tank that runs dry in January turns a low-heat plan into a frozen house.
• A smart thermostat with a low-temperature alert is useful here, but only if it has power, working internet, and a person who will act on it. It reports the emergency. It doesn't fix it.
• Power: for a full shutdown, many owners switch off the main breaker but leave circuits for the alarm, sump pump, heat tape, or cameras. A sump pump without power can't run. If the basement takes spring melt, leave that circuit on, ideally with a battery backup and a water alarm.

Step 4 - Kitchen and appliances

• Refrigerator and freezer: either leave them running (only if power is dependable) or empty, defrost, clean, unplug, and prop the doors open so mold cannot take hold.
• Pantry: take out or seal in hard containers anything a mouse would want, which is nearly everything. Take out all trash.
• Unplug small appliances, TVs, and anything with a standby draw or a lightning-strike risk.
• Canned goods and liquids freeze. In a house with the heat off, cans, bottles and cleaning products will burst. Take them home or store them somewhere that stays above freezing.

Step 5 - Exterior

• Clean gutters and downspouts so meltwater drains instead of refreezing at the eaves - clogged gutters feed ice dams, and ice dams push water under shingles.
• Roof and snow load: have the roof inspected for loose shingles and flashing before winter. In heavy-snow country, know who will rake or clear the roof after big storms. Snow doesn't wait for spring, and a roof rake in a locked garage helps nobody.
• Trim branches overhanging the roof and power line; ice-loaded limbs come down.
• Chimney: close the damper once the flue is cool, and make sure the cap and screen are intact - an open flue is a heat leak and a raccoon door.
• Seal pest entries: walk the foundation and soffits for gaps; steel wool and caulk now beat a squirrel in the attic in February.
• Stow or secure deck furniture, grills (close the propane cylinder valve), docks, and anything wind can throw.
• Snow removal: in many towns an unshoveled walk earns fines, and an undisturbed driveway announces an empty house. Line up a plow contract or a neighbor before the first storm.

Step 6 - Security and monitoring, honestly

Two different problems get mixed up here: making the house look lived in, and making sure someone knows when something goes wrong.

• Looking lived in: a couple of lamps on timers, a held or forwarded mail stream, a plowed driveway, and no announcement of the empty house on social media.
• Knowing when something goes wrong: leak sensors, low-temperature alerts and cameras raise the alarm. They don't fix anything. A freeze alert at 2 a.m. is only worth what the person who gets it can do about it. Insurer guidance for long absences is blunt about this: have someone check the house regularly, because a problem found quickly does far less damage.
• Name the responder. A neighbor or family keyholder with a key, the alarm code, and the location of the main water shutoff - written down, not assumed. If the answer is "nobody within two hours," go with the full shutdown column above, and read the part on professional help below.

If this is a seasonal pattern - the same house closed every year while its owners winter elsewhere - a paid home-watch service does this on a schedule, with a report each time. House Matters' snowbird departure checklist covers the professional leaving-for-the-season version, and its what-is-home-watch guide explains what a documented visit actually includes. This checklist and a professional watch don't compete. The shutdown is yours either way, and the watch is who notices in week six.

Step 7 - Mail, utilities, and insurance

• Mail and packages: place a USPS hold or forward, pause subscriptions and deliveries, and give the keyholder standing instructions for anything that slips through. A stuffed mailbox is the surest sign a house is empty.
• Utilities: if heat stays on, so do gas and electric - put both on autopay and set usage alerts if the utility offers them (a sudden spike or a drop to nothing tells you something). For a full shutdown, ask the utility about seasonal disconnect versus minimum service before assuming which is cheaper.
• Call the insurer before leaving. Most homeowners policies have a vacancy clause that limits or excludes coverage once the house has been empty for a set period, usually 30 to 60 days in a row. Insurers expect proof that you took reasonable steps (heat, water off, regular checks). The full insurance side of an empty house - vacant versus unoccupied, endorsements, vacancy policies - is its own topic, covered in the guide to leaving a house empty.

The north-country full shutdown, start to finish

For a cabin that goes cold until May, everything above becomes one long shutdown day. In order:

1. Well pump breaker off (or main valve closed); pressure tank drained.
2. Every faucet open, top to bottom; low-point drains opened; lines blown out with air where fittings exist.
3. Water heater off first, then drained.
4. Toilets flushed dry; antifreeze in tanks and bowls.
5. Antifreeze in every trap - including the floor drain and the shower nobody remembers.
6. Washer, dishwasher, icemaker treated as above; sauna, wet bar, and outdoor kitchen lines too if the place has them.
7. Fridge emptied and propped; food out; cans and bottles out.
8. Heat off; power down to essentials; damper closed; doors locked; keyholder confirmed.
9. Photos of the water heater drain, the open faucets, and the main valve - thirty seconds of pictures ends every "did anyone actually…" argument in March.

In spring, the whole list runs in reverse - close the drains and faucets before opening the main, fill the water heater before re-energizing it, and pressurize slowly while someone walks the house listening for hissing.

For a shared cabin, the real question isn't how. It's whose job this is. When the last October guest "assumed someone else was closing up," the family pays for it in burst copper. Shutdown and open-up duty belongs in the family cabin agreement alongside the money rules, and it usually lands on whoever holds the season's final stay - one more reason fair scheduling should assign the last slot on purpose. The shutdown-day costs - antifreeze, furnace service, the irrigation blowout, the plow contract - are shared expenses like any other; the cabin expense split calculator shows how they divide. And if the empty house is one of two or more places the family runs, the second-home management guide covers the year-round system this checklist plugs into.

Frequently asked questions

What temperature should an empty house be kept at in winter?

Insurer guidance for a vacant house is no lower than 55°F, with the water shut off or the plumbing fully winterized. For an occupied house in severe cold, III recommends at least 65°F, since the space inside exterior walls runs much colder than the rooms. Setting 45°F to save on fuel doesn't pay. The savings are small, and there's no margin left if the furnace hiccups.

Should the water be turned off in an empty house?

Yes, in nearly every case. A full supply line in an empty house can pour out a huge amount of water through one split fitting before anyone notices. Shut the main, open the faucets, and drain what you can even when the heat stays on. The exception is a fire-sprinkler system, which must stay charged - ask the insurer and a sprinkler contractor how to protect it.

Can the heat be turned off completely in an empty house over winter?

Only if the plumbing is completely drained and the traps protected with RV antifreeze - the full-shutdown column above. A cold house with dry pipes is safe; a cold house with water anywhere in the system is not. Tell the insurer either way. An unheated house that still had water in it is exactly the claim vacancy clauses are written to deny.

What kind of antifreeze goes in house pipes and drains?

Non-toxic propylene-glycol RV antifreeze - the pink jugs rated for potable water systems. Never automotive (ethylene glycol) antifreeze, which is toxic to children, pets, wildlife, and septic systems. Use it in drain traps, toilet tanks and bowls, and appliance sumps; supply lines are better emptied by draining or blowing out with air, with antifreeze as a backup.

How long can a house sit empty before insurance becomes a problem?

Standard homeowners policies usually limit or exclude some coverage after 30 to 60 days in a row with nobody living there. The exact trigger and effect depend on the policy, so read it and call the insurer before a long absence. The leaving-a-house-empty guide walks through vacant versus unoccupied and the endorsement options.

Do smart thermostats and leak sensors mean nobody has to check the house?

No. Sensors report. They can't shut a valve, relight a furnace or tarp a roof. Insurer guidance for extended absences still calls for a person checking the house regularly. Sensors shrink the time between something failing and someone knowing. A named keyholder or a professional home-watch service shrinks the time between knowing and fixing it, and that second gap is where the damage piles up.