Do you live in Katy, TX most of the year but have a cabin that you tend to travel to during some of the colder months? Maybe you like the hunting in Michigan or you like hiking in Colorado. So you have a cabin in one of those areas that lets you have some fun during the cold months and then head right back home when you're done with it. Well then, you need to make sure you know a plumber in the area who can help you to winterize the space when you're done.

What is Winterization?

When you winterize your cabin with a plumber you're making sure that nothing is going to freeze while you're gone and not using it. This is especially important during the cold months and especially in states that are further to the north. If you're coming from Katy, TX you may not even think about the need to winterize your cabin before you head back home for the rest of the season. But if you don't you could come back to a very big and very expensive problem.

Calling a Plumber to Winterize

When you're staying in your cabin you're going to be using things like the bathrooms, the sinks and everything else that has water in it. This keeps the water flowing through the pipes and helps prevent them from freezing. Now, if you have pipes on exterior walls you may still need to pay attention to them to make sure that they don't freeze and to be sure that they are insulated well, but the biggest problem is going to be when you go home. That's because there's nothing flowing through the pipes, but there is water sitting there.

When you call a plumber and let them know that you need to winterize your cabin they're going to take care of some very important steps for you. They're going to turn the water off, for one thing, and not just closing all of the drains. They actually turn the water off right at the water meter, which means that no water is going to get into your house at all. This makes sure that even if there's a trickle of water coming from the water line it's not going to get into your home and you won't have anything in the lines that can freeze.

They're also going to turn off the water heater and drain it, which makes sure that the heater isn't going to be trying to draw power and it's not going to try and draw water. Also, the water that's in the heater isn't going to freeze as the temperatures start to get even colder. This is extremely important because your water heater likely holds quite a large amount of water. If you don't drain it and it does freeze it could burst, leaving all of that water laying across your floor (and freezing). Plus you'd need to replace your water heater.

It's also important to blow out all of the lines to make sure that no water is left in the lines. Your plumber is going to have special tools that will make this easier and ensure that when they're done there's absolutely no water left anywhere in the plumbing. This is crucial because even a small amount of water could cause some very serious damage. Small amounts of water are going to be easier to freeze and once it freezes it causes the pipe to expand. Once the pipe can't expand anymore it will burst, which causes you a whole lot of problems even if there isn't much water to leak out.

Finally, they're going to run some solutions through the lines that make sure that they're not going to freeze. In general this is a form of antifreeze which does exactly what it sounds like, keeps the lines from freezing. There's a particular process to making sure that this is done properly and ensuring that you can leave the house without having to worry about any moisture that might be left. Your plumber will make sure there's nothing to worry about.

Getting Ready Again

When it comes time to head back to your cabin again you're going to need to call that plumber back out to make sure you're clearing out all of the antifreeze and getting your plumbing hooked back up the right way. After all, you want to make sure that you're able to use the water, right? So, make sure that you're calling a professional plumber to take care of the problem and then get back to enjoying your cabin. When it's time to head back home again you can call them up and get the whole place winterized again.

Now, keep in mind that this is only when you're leaving in the winter. If you plan to spend the summer in your cabin or you're leaving in the summer and coming back before winter you likely don't need to worry about anything. You may want to turn off the water but you won't have to worry about anything freezing because you're planning to be back before the weather gets that cold. But don't forget how important it is to winterize if you're not coming back during those months.

You could end up with a whole lot of water flooded through your house. And that water can cause damage to your walls, floors, and everything else. Not to mention it could freeze inside as well and result in even more problems. Instead, call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, your local plumber and make sure you're making an appointment. You may be heading back to Katy, TX, but your cabin is going to need some serious attention and care. It may not always be your Katy, TX home that needs you to call a plumber and if you're not taking care of your place where it could freeze then you're definitely going to have some problems that you don't want to deal with.