Winterising Your Holiday Home
Now that we are coming into the colder months, it is important to take care of your holiday home and owners may want to think about taking additional steps to prepare their holiday home for winter.
This can include, but not limited to, what is called a ‘drain-down,’ which is a key priority when winterising a holiday home. To prevent the pipes from freezing, owners need to remove all the water from their caravan’s plumbing system, except for the central heating. Once done with the drain-down there are a few other things owners may want to take care of too.
Owners need to make sure everything is safe and secure both inside and outside of the holiday home to minimise the chance of damp and mould developing. Before owners leave their holiday home for the winter, remember to check your insurance policy as it may need you to take specific actions over and above the steps mentioned in this newsletter. It’s a good idea to double check this and make sure you’re doing everything needed. That way you’re sure to be covered even if something does go wrong.
Once owners know what they need to do, set aside some time to do it before shutting up their holiday home for the winter. Owners should winterise their holiday home before the weather gets too bad, but there’s no specific rule for when.
Preparing your holiday home for winter may seem like a lot of work and faff, however, the steps owners take now will pay off in the longer run. Winterisation not only saves owners money on repairs, but it also prevents owners from missing part of next year’s season waiting for them to be done.
Need a little help with a drain-down. Don’t worry, we are on hand to help any owners with this by offering a drain-down service for a fee. To book in a drain-down with our experienced maintenance team, owners can either give the reception a call on 01436 831208 or pop in in person. In either instance, please remember to quote your pitch number.
Meanwhile, we have supplied guidance from Willerby, the largest UK holiday home manufacturer, on what their top tips are to owners when preparing to winterise a holiday home. We hope you find this information useful in guiding you to take the steps necessary to keep your holiday home safe and secure throughout the winter.
Draining down a caravan – what is involved?
When you drain down your caravan, you’re removing all the water from the pipes. This is to avoid freezing problems when the temperature drops over winter. It can make the difference between a caravan that’s ready to go next spring, and one that needs expensive and difficult repairs.
It is important to make sure that you don’t drain the central heating system, and this has been fitted with anti-freeze.
Why do I need to drain down my caravan?
If you’ve ever had pipes freeze at home – or on a holiday home – you’ll know how much of a problem, it can cause. Water expands when it freezes, which can cause the pipes to burst. Then when it melts, you’re left with flooding, water damage and ruined pipes.
This is even worse on your static caravan as the pipes could be inside the caravan itself and inside the wall cavities. Plus, you won’t be there to spot it right away. Damage could be going untreated and continue to get worse throughout the winter.
So, make sure you’re not risking major – irreparable – damage to your caravan by doing a proper drain-down before winter kicks in.
What else do I need to do?
Draining down your caravan is an essential part of your winter preparation. But there are other things you can do to keep your caravan in good condition during winter. Doing so will help you avoid nasty surprises when spring comes.
Gas, water, and electricity
Preparing your caravan’s utilities for a few months away is pretty similar to preparing your house when you’re going away.
Start by taking a walk around your holiday home. Check that all appliances are off and unplugged if they can be. Then you can turn off and disconnect the gas and electricity at the mains. You should already have turned off the water as part of your drain-down process.
Make sure any devices with batteries – like alarm clocks or radios – have them removed if possible. Alkaline batteries can corrode over time, and you don’t want to open up your favourite device and find a horrible furry mess inside.
It’s also a good idea to remove your water filter if you can. Your water filter needs replacing every year, so it’s a good idea to remove it now and put in a fresh one when you return in spring.
After you’ve done your drain-down, block the toilet and cover up your plugholes to stop any beasties crawling in. Just be sure to remove them before you turn the water back on.
Keep the air flowing
Making sure air can move through your static caravan helps prevent damp and that horrible musty smell you can get after a long winter.
Make sure you give the caravan a good air through before you lock it up. This means opening all the doors and windows for a while and letting the nice cool autumn air blow through. Remember to close all the outside doors and windows before you leave.
You can leave all the air vents open though. This will let fresh air in and keep things circulating over winter. Leave all the inside doors open too. Holiday home doors tend to seal well and leaving them open lets the air move around.
In the kitchen
Make sure you don’t leave any food in your caravan over winter, even if it’s unopened. Rodents can be tenacious little rascals, and they’ll nibble through most things. Tinned food is the only exception but if you are leaving any cans make sure to pop them on a sheet of paper to avoid leaving rust rings.
Give everything a good clean before you leave. When you return, small stains could have spread, and even tiny crumbs can attract pests. Plus, it’s much nicer to come back to a spotlessly clean holiday home next year.
Leave all the cupboard doors open to help with airflow. Defrost the fridge and freezer, give them a good clean and dry and leave those doors open too. This will help to avoid any mould or damp building up in the fridge.
Security
Make sure you lock all the windows and doors before you leave. This might seem obvious, but it’s easy to overlook when you’re heading off.
Leave your curtains and blinds open or take them down if it’s easy to do so. Letting daylight into your caravan can help prevent damp and mould from forming.
It’s also worth checking with your site and insurance if they have any recommendations about what you should do to stay secure over winter. If they do, make sure you follow their guidelines.
Outside
At a glance, your caravan’s exterior may appear to be in excellent condition. But the harshness of winter can turn even the smallest problems into major ones. So, spend some time having a good look over the outside of your caravan and fix any little niggles you find.
Start off by having a close look at the cladding. Depending on what kind you have, it might have a protective coating. If this looks like it’s wearing a little thin, then it’s time to re-coat it (or pay someone to come and do it for you).
Have a good look for any loose joints and gaps on the outside of your holiday home. These are the points where the rain can work its way inside the walls and start to cause damp problems. If you find any, make sure they’re fixed and watertight before you leave.
Check and clean the guttering. If it’s clogged with leaves then water can overflow and run down the walls and windows of your caravan, causing all sorts of damage. If you don’t fancy doing it yourself, any gutter cleaner should be able to come and do it for you.
If there’s any foliage growing up around your holiday home spend a bit of time cutting it back. It won’t grow much over winter and having space for air to flow underneath your caravan can help prevent issues.
Check the lagging on any outdoor pipes, and if it’s not looking too good replace it. Your drain-down should prevent any freezing problems, but good lagging will help too.
Finally, pack away any outdoor furniture you have. If you have outdoor storage that’s great – if you need to take it inside, make sure it’s clean and dry before you leave.
Soft furnishings
Soft furnishings are a magnet for dampness and rodents. Let’s be honest, the last thing you want is to find a little mouse family in your favourite cushion when you get back.
So, if you can, take as many of your cushions and covers with you when you leave for the winter. If you can’t, sealing them up in vacuum bags can be a good way to protect them. Make sure you move as much as you can away from the exterior walls. You can also roll up any loose rugs and stand them up in the middle of the caravan.
…And you’re done.
All this might seem like an awful lot, but it’s not that much worse than giving your caravan a good deep clean, and you only have to do it once a year. So, it must be worth putting in the extra effort to make sure everything is ready for when you return, right?
Either way, preparing your caravan for winter will make it more pleasant to return to in spring. You’ll be able to rock up, spend a little time turning things back on and putting them back in their places then relax.
Just make sure you allow time to do this when you return.
