Maintaining a Vacant Home in Winter
Quick Answer
A vacant house during an Iowa January freeze is a ticking time bomb. If the furnace fails on a Tuesday, by Thursday the pipes burst, destroying the drywall, the flooring, and the pending sale.
The 55-Degree Rule
When sellers move out before the home sells, their first instinct is to turn the thermostat down to 45°F to save money on the MidAmerican Energy bill.
Do not do this. While the thermostat reading 45°F means the hallway is 45°F, the uninsulated plumbing pipes running through the exterior walls are actually 28°F. At 28°F, the water inside the copper pipes freezes, expands by 9%, and ruptures the metal. Set the thermostat to an absolute minimum of 55°F to 60°F to ensure radiant heat penetrates the walls.
Mandatory Plumbing Protocols
Even with the heat actively running, a power outage during a blizzard will kill the furnace. You must properly drain the exterior and peripheral plumbing.
The Winterizing Checklist
- The Exterior Sillcocks: You must shut off the interior water valve leading to the exterior hose spigots. Then, go outside, open the spigot, and let the trapped water drain out. If you leave water in an exterior spigot, the frost will travel backward into the house and split the pipe.
- The Cabinet Doors: Open the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink and all bathroom vanities. This allows the warm 55°F ambient air from the furnace to circulate around the sink's P-trap plumbing against the exterior wall.
- The Water Heater: Turn the gas or electric water heater down to the "Vacation" setting. It will maintain just enough heat to prevent the tank from freezing, without wasting energy heating 50 gallons of unused water to 120°F.
Snow Removal Liability
Just because the home is vacant does not mean you are absolved of municipal liability. By Des Moines city ordinance, you have 48 hours to clear the public sidewalks after a snowfall.
Furthermore, a buyer's agent will simply skip the showing if the driveway is covered in 8 inches of unplowed snow. Hire a local neighborhood teenager or a professional snow removal service on a "per-push" contract to ensure the driveway and front walkway are cleared and salted immediately after every storm.
Install a Wi-Fi Temperature Sensor
For $30, you can buy a smart temperature sensor (like a Govee or a basic Nest thermostat) that connects to the home's Wi-Fi. Set an alert on your phone: If the interior temperature of the house ever drops below 45°F, the app immediately alerts you. This means the furnace has failed, and you have exactly 12 hours to call an emergency HVAC tech before the pipes burst.