Preparing a country house for winter: engineering systems

Many country houses are left unattended in cold weather. The owners leave for the city, the dacha winters alone, without heating. Let’s talk about how to properly prepare all engineering systems for winter in this case, so that in the spring the beginning of the summer season goes without problems.

We have already written what needs to be done to prepare the cottage and the site for the cold weather. In addition, our autumn gardener and gardener calendar will not allow you to forget any of the important work on the site. Now it’s time to talk specifically about the preparation for the winter of the engineering systems of the summer cottage, where the owners visit out of season only from time to time.

Here is a list of what each summer resident needs to do, ending the summer season:

1. Drain the system. Any properly arranged water supply system for a summer cottage for seasonal use has a check valve, which is located on the pipe leading from the well or well to the house. In normal operation, such a valve interferes with the drainage of water. Therefore, to get rid of water in the system, the owner must stop the check valve. After that, the water will return to the special drain of the well or to the well. It is important that there is a drain valve between the accumulator and the non-return valve. If the water supply system is hidden in a well, then the tap is made with a long handle for convenient use;

Important! If the water supply system is installed incorrectly, sometimes there is no other way out but to disassemble the unit responsible for the water supply in order to drain it manually.

2. You should also take care of the pumping station. If the pump of the water supply system is located deep in the well, below the freezing depth, in principle, you can not worry about it. But many summer residents remove this expensive device and take it to the city with them. This allows you not to worry that the pump will be stolen, and it will be stored in a comfortable environment, for example, in a warm garage. If the pump is located in an unheated country house, the water must be drained from it. This is done by unscrewing the drain plug and turning the pump over. Of course, it must first be de-energized;
3. In addition, all containers on the site, including the flight shower tank, are freed from water. Plastic and metal barrels, tanks, must be washed and rinsed after summer use, and then hidden in a lockable shed, garage, transferred to the house itself under lock and key;

4. Remember to drain the storage water heater, dishwasher and washing machine. Follow the instructions! There is a risk that some water will remain inside the devices, which can freeze in winter. Some people advise turning the washing machine upside down and leaving it in this position for the winter. However, more often than not, it is enough to simply pull out both hoses, lower their ends into some container and turn on the machine to the “drain” mode;
5. To be sure, to make sure that there is not a drop of water left in the system, it should be purged. For this purpose, an automobile compressor is used. The valve to which it is connected is screwed to the end of a water pipe or a flexible hose, for example, leading to a water heater;

Important! Keep all taps open while purging the water supply system. And leave them open until spring!

6. Do not forget to empty the toilet tank, get rid of water and debris in the siphons under the sink and sink, as well as drain the water seal, which should be filled with antifreeze for the winter so that unpleasant odors from the septic tank do not enter the house;
7. If a caisson for a well is equipped on the site, then it is protected from all winter cataclysms. Otherwise, the well must be insulated from above, closed from debris;
8. It is not necessary to insulate a well in the middle zone of our country for the winter. Especially if there is a reliable head, a house on top with a closing door. If you are still worried about the well, it can be insulated with extradated polystyrene foam or foam;

9. A septic tank requires special attention, which in the case of a long absence of the owners in winter can freeze. First of all, the septic tank is disconnected from the power supply, the compressors and pumps are disconnected. The liquid from the septic tank should be pumped out, but not all – it should remain about a quarter full! If the waste is completely removed from the septic tank, just add water to it. To get rid of unpleasant odors in the spring, it is advisable to add bacteria to the septic tank. The cover is insulated, like the pipeline, you can use any covering materials, the main thing is that they hold securely.

Many summer residents note that the snow cover in itself will become a good insulation for a septic tank, a well and a well. You can come on the weekend to create a snowdrift in the right place and additionally protect these important parts of the engineering system from freezing. Having completed all the fairly simple but necessary actions that we have listed, you can be sure that in the spring the engineering systems of the summer cottage will continue to work without problems.