Winter is coming soon, and that means it is time to get busy preparing your manufactured home for the ravages of winter weather. Especially for those who live in the northern areas of the country, winter can be incredibly brutal on your manufactured home. If you do not get it ready to endure the winter weather, your manufactured home can be severely damaged by it. To prevent that, follow this guide to prepare your manufactured home for winter.
1. Loosen the Tie Downs
When the ground freezes solid during the winter months, it can move up to three inches. If your tie downs are tightly secured to the ground when it freezes, it can cause severe structural damage to the frame of your manufactured home. To prevent this, the first step to ready your manufactured home for winter is to loosen your tie downs so that your home’s frame will not be damaged when the ground freezes.
2. Check Your Skirting
The next step in prepping your manufactured home for winter is to inspect your skirting. The skirting on your home needs to be tight to prevent drafts, but it cannot be completely sealed off. There has to be some ventilation so that you do not have problems with condensation or odors. While you are checking the skirting, make sure that all the drain lines from things like your heat pump and air conditioner run outside the skirting to drain.
3. Check Your Vents
While you are checking your skirting, make sure that you close your vents for the winter. You don’t want snow and frigid air coming in when the winter weather arrives. This seems like a simple thing, but you would be surprised how many people forget to close their vents before winter hits.
4. Protect Your Water Lines
The last thing you want in the middle of the winter is for your water lines to freeze solid and burst. To prevent this, you must wrap your water lines with heat cable. When the cold weather comes, make sure to double-check that the heat cables are plugged in and functioning properly.
5. Inspect Your Furnace
Your furnace is the most important component of your home when winter hits. Without it, you simply cannot live in your manufactured home. That makes it crucial that you inspect your furnace to see that it is working right when you prepare your manufactured home for winter. As part of this inspection, make sure to install a new furnace filter. You will want to change the furnace filter monthly during the winter to keep the furnace operating at peak efficiency. Also, make sure to inspect the furnace vent to ensure that it is not blocked. When the winter weather arrives, inspect your furnace vent each time a storm hits to check for blockages.
6. Check Your Sewer Line
If the sewer line is not off the ground, it will freeze when the cold weather arrives. To prevent this, you can tie up the sewer line to the frame of your home or place it up on blocks to keep it off the ground. Also, make sure that your sewer line is angled correctly so that it drains properly. You also need to fix any leaks in your plumbing to prevent the sewer line from freezing.
7. Finally, inspect your belly board to make sure there are no holes. You will also want to inspect your heat registers to ensure they are sealed and functioning properly.
