While most parts of a rustic or luxurious cabin retreat can handle the challenges of winter weather quite well, plumbing systems are particularly sensitive to cold temperatures when the structure is not being inhabited and heated. If you're still in the process of designing or building a new cabin, you can request certain features from the plumbing contractors that will make it easier to winterize the pipes before you leave for the last visit of the fall. Consider using as many of these tricks as possible for easy-to-maintain cabin plumbing.

Drain at Lowest Point

Start by finding the lowest point of the fresh water supply system, and add an accessible hand drain at that point. After cutting off the supply at the main source, you can open all the taps and faucets in the cabin and simply unscrew or turn open the drain valve. Most of the water in the system will rush out through gravity alone. If you leave any faucets closed while doing this, the pressure in the pipes will keep some water trapped. Of course, this won't remove water from traps at drains since that's a separate system of pipes, but you don't necessarily want to completely drain traps over the winter. It's better to add a little non-toxic drain antifreeze to each drain than to try to completely dry them out and potentially allow sewer gases to enter the home.

Extra Cutoff Valves

Trying to troubleshoot a leak after a busted pipe has caused flooding under your new cabin? In cases like these, individual cutoff valves for each major water supply can be indispensable. It's much easier to isolate a leak, repair the damaged pipes or joints, and get water restored again when you can turn off just one toilet, sink, or washing machine hookup at a time. Make sure the cutoff valves are accessible and brightly colored so you can find them when there's a leak.

Covered Vents

Every home or cabin needs vents to prevent sewer gases from rising back up the plumbing, even if P-traps were properly installed. These vents are particularly important for remote or rural properties that rely on a septic tank. These vents are usually made of metal or PVC pipe sticking straight up through the roof. If you live in an area with freezing temperatures and even occasional snow fall, you should get a cap or cover for the sewer vents on your roof. Blockages in these vents cause your plumbing to act up when you use it and can force dangerous gases into the structure to surprise you when you next visit.

Automatic Heat Tape

Can't get to your cabin in time to drain all the pipes, plan to use it through the winter, or live in an area with unexpected temperature extremes? Consider high tech pipe heat tape. Old-fashioned heat tapes wrap around pipes and plug into an extension cord or outlet to provide just enough heat to keep the lines from freezing. Today's most advanced models include automatic thermostat controls to switch on whenever temperatures drop into the danger zone for frozen water. Some home automation systems also include plumbing heat tape control settings in their online access panels as well.

Fitting Faucet Adapters

To force all the water out of water supply pipes, you can attach air compressor nozzles to faucets and use the air to force water out through the lowest open tap or faucet. Installing at least one faucet that fits a specific adapter makes it easy to get a tight fit and deliver plenty of air pressure into the pipes. Any size combination will do, so try taking your threaded air compressor nozzles to the store and checking to see if they fit any of the faucets on display when the aerators and screens are removed.

To get help from a professional plumber, see this site.

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