Caring for Your Appliances Through the Winter

Just about every cabin owner in the Frostbelt has a list of major winterizing tasks to perform prior to winter. But too often the appliances and components that make the cabin’s major systems work are left to fend for themselves. Here’s a few often overlooked checks for those little guys:

• Fuel-oil furnaces: Ensure your fuel oil tank contains only #1 heating oil, which won’t gel until temperatures reach -60°F. By comparison, #2 fuel oil, sometimes used as a substitute for heating oil, starts to gel at a relatively balmy 20°F. And replace any fuel filters located outside; fuel filters often contain water, which can freeze and block fuel flow.
• Laundry room: While it might not cause catastrophic failure, washer and dryer bearings are lubricated with grease, which can gel at lower temperatures and reduce the overall life of the appliances. Ensure the room temperature is above 50°F before you wash or dry clothes.
• TVs: In years past, older televisions’ cathode-ray tubes could “explode” if turned on while cold. With the advent of LCD and plasma technology, effects of cold weather tube watching are less dramatic, but still worrisome. The worrisome part comes from condensation that can form when the television is turned on in cold air, which can trap moisture and cause damage. Best to wait until the television warms up to heated room temperature prior to flipping it on.

MORE WINTERIZING TIPS
Take the chimney cap off: Chimney caps, or rain caps, work great to keep moisture out of the chimney during fall and spring. In the winter, however, their cold surface acts as a catalyst for frost formation, which can block flue gases.

Drippy faucets: That slow drip-drip-drip of a leaky faucet might not seem significant, but a slow accumulation of water in drainage pipes at cold temperatures creates a much higher potential for ice build-up and pipe ruptures than a sudden flush of water. Fix those leaky faucets, or just close the shut-off valves when you’re away.