Closing the cottage for winter, and opening it again in spring

1. 1. Water, the part that costs money if it goes wrong

   Water left in a pipe, a pump or a trap is what splits over the winter. Do this section first and do it all, even on a weekend when the rest gets rushed.

   • Turn off the pump at its breaker, or close the main valve if the place is on a town or shared line.
   • Turn off the water heater's power or gas before you drain it. An electric element switched on in an empty tank burns out.
   • Open every tap, hot and cold, inside and out, and leave them open for the winter.
   • Drain the pump and the pressure tank, and pull or drain the intake line if you draw water from the lake.
   • Drain the water heater through its drain valve with a hose run outside.
   • Flush each toilet, then sponge or pump out what is left in the bowl and the tank.
   • Blow the lines out with an air compressor if you have one, one tap at a time, until only air comes out.
   • Pour non-toxic RV or marine antifreeze into every sink, shower and tub drain and into each toilet bowl. Never the kind made for cars, which is poisonous and ends up in the septic.
   • Disconnect and drain the hoses, the outdoor shower and anything else outside that holds water.
   • Write on a card by the pump which valves you closed and which taps you left open.

2. 2. The kitchen, and anything a mouse would eat

   Mice move in the week the people move out. What they find decides how bad spring is.

   • Empty the fridge and freezer, unplug them, wipe them dry and prop the doors open so they do not go mouldy.
   • Take every bit of food home, the spices and the birdseed included, or keep what stays in metal or glass.
   • Put bedding, towels and cushions into sealed plastic bins.
   • Push steel wool or metal mesh into the gaps where pipes and wires come through the walls.
   • Set traps where the spring opener will find them, and write down where.
   • Take the garbage and recycling out, and empty the compost.

3. 3. Power, heat and fuel

   Decide what stays on for the winter, then turn off the rest on purpose.

   • Close the propane at the tank and turn off the pilot lights on anything that runs on it.
   • Close the chimney damper once the stove or fireplace is cold, and put the cap on if there is one.
   • Unplug everything that does not have to stay on.
   • Turn off the breakers for anything that should not run all winter, and label the ones that stay on, such as a heat cable or a sump pump.
   • If the place keeps a little heat on, write the thermostat setting on the closing card.

4. 4. Outside, the dock and the boats

   Ice, snow and wind do the damage out here. Most of it is a matter of putting things away.

   • Boats out of the water, fuel stabilizer in the tanks, and the batteries out and taken home or put on a trickle charger.
   • Dock sections, the ladder and the swim raft out, or secured the way the dock was built to spend the winter.
   • Canoes and kayaks inside, or upside down and off the ground.
   • Outdoor furniture stored, and the barbecue's propane cylinder disconnected and kept outside, upright, never in the cottage.
   • Gutters cleared, and shutters closed if the place has them.

5. 5. Locking up and telling people

   The last job is making sure someone knows the place is empty, and that whoever opens it knows what you found.

   • Windows latched, doors locked, and the spare key where everyone expects it to be.
   • Ask the insurer whether the policy wants the place checked while it sits empty, and how often. Some policies do.
   • Tell a neighbour or the road association which weekend you closed and who to call.
   • Mail and deliveries stopped, and anything billed monthly that nobody uses in winter paused.
   • The closing log: what broke this year, what ran low and what needs fixing before summer, left where the spring opener will see it first.

6. 6. Opening in spring

   The same jobs in reverse, with one rule that matters more than the rest: the water heater gets power only after it is full.

   • Walk around before you go in: the roof, any fallen trees, the waterline and signs of animals.
   • Read the closing log and the card by the pump.
   • Turn the power back on at the panel, but leave the water heater's breaker off for now.
   • Close the drains and the taps, put the intake line back, prime the pump and let the pressure build.
   • Check under every sink and in the crawlspace for drips before you call the water done.
   • Run each tap until the antifreeze is gone and the water runs clear.
   • Fill the water heater, then turn on its power or light its pilot.
   • If the water comes from a well or the lake, have it tested before anyone drinks it.
   • Open the propane at the tank, relight the pilots, and sniff at each appliance for a leak.
   • Open the chimney damper and look up the chimney before the first fire.
   • Plug in the fridge, collect the traps, and wash any bedding that something got into.
   • Put new batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and press the test button on each.
   • Dock and boats in once the ice is out.
   • Tell the other families the place is open and what you found.

From alldibs.com/cabin/closing-checklist. A closing and opening list for a shared cottage or cabin. Where a plumber left instructions for your water system, follow those instead.