Should I Winterize My Albuquerque Home?
Winterizing your Albuquerque or Rio Rancho home is a very good idea if your planning on being gone for even a few weeks or months. Winterizing your home helps you to save on utility bills during that period and protect your property. Here are a few ideas to help you winterize your home here in Albuquerque or Rio Rancho NM
Ask yourself how long you plan on being gone? It may not be a good idea to leave a home totally vacant for long periods and your insurance company may frown on the idea should they be made aware. You may want to consider having a friend or family member delegated to periodically go into
your home say once a month to run water through the drains, flush toilets, and check any other items like doors and windows that you may want them to check on while in the home. Some suggest turning the water off completely in the even of a leak due to frozen pipes.
Many homes in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho utilize evaporative coolers, it is imperative these systems are completely shut down, the water turned off and the feeder water line drained. Every year homes are heavily damaged due to negligence by the home owner not taking the necessary precautions. Most landscapes in Albuquerque have an outdoor irrigation system, during the winter months these systems should have some type of insulated cover placed over their anti-siphon valve or drained all together. It would also be a good idea to change your sprinkler system timer to the appropriate winter settings or off.
Professionals recommend setting your thermostat to 50-55 degrees in the heat mode. This will save a lot of energy yet prevent pipes from freezing, you may want to consider opening cabinet doors beneath sinks to allow the flow of warmer air. While doing this it would be a great time to check your smoke alarms and replace the batteries, you wont be around to hear them chirping as they go bad.
Another consideration for Winterizing your Rio Rancho or Albuquerque home is regarding gas appliances that utilize a pilot light like a gas fireplace, gas stove etc. you may want to turn those pilots off or completely turn off the gas to those appliances. The exception to this would be the hot water 
heater, it is not recommended you turn these off. You don't want the water in the heater to freeze, the best thing to do is put it on the vacation setting. This way the pilot stays lit, the water wont freeze and when you do have someone come in to flush toilets and run water you have that warm water in the tank. If you do have someone coming in on occasion have them turn off one light and leave another on so it appears there is activity in the home.
These are all simple steps to consider when winterizing your Albuquerque New Mexico home. If in doubt contact your local utility provider or a professional home inspector.
Albuquerque Homes and Lifestyle Blog
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John McCormack Owner/Managing Broker, e-PRO
505-980-4576 / John@AlbuquerqueHomes.com
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