Winter waterland

We live in mostly sunny and warm(er) Florida, so by and large, we ignore the advice and articles on winterizing RVs.

However...

Last week, the polar vortex extended its cold breath as far south as Florida, and we experienced a hard freeze. For two or three nights, the temperatures dropped below 32 degrees. I believe it was Tuesday morning that I awoke to 25 degrees.

Last weekend, when it was warm and sunny, I saw the weather forecast and asked Jim about safeguarding the RV against frozen pipes. He hadn't given it much thought (since this is something we almost never have to think about), but then considered that it would be a good idea.

He drove down to Junior. His winterizing effort included turning the propane furnace on and setting the thermostat to 40 degrees; emptying the hot water heater, and turning on the faucets to get the water out of the pipes. he also removed the windshield water reservoir, since it did not have an anti-freeze agent in the water.

Yesterday we returned to the RV to undo his efforts, since the freeze is now over and temperatures are in the 70s.

As Jim replaced the thermostat on the outside of the RV, he asked me to turn on the bathroom faucet to fill the hot water heater. I did. Water flowed for several minutes. I decided to go ask Jim how long he wanted me to run the water. As I walked through the galley, I saw water streaming on the floor! My first thought: broken pipe!

Yikes! That's all we needed.

Jim came in to look. I had turned off the bathroom faucet, but I didn't know he had left the kitchen faucet open. The kitchen cutout (counter top that fits over the sink) was over the sink, the faucet (unknown to me) had been spouting water over the counter and onto the floor! What a mess. A lot of water.

The floor is vinyl planking, so it wasn't damaged. And a good mopping never hurts.

The moral: Think ahead if you have to winterize an RV. And close the taps.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda