Winterizing a House That Will Sit Empty: Heat On, or Full Drain-Down

By NorthBriar Editorial Team · Published Aug 12, 2026 · Reviewed per our editorial policy

A vacant freeze-belt house gets into trouble by one of two routes. Either the furnace quits (or the power does) and the plumbing freezes with nobody there to notice; or a pipe lets go quietly in February and runs water into the structure for weeks before anyone opens the door. Both endings are preventable if you winterize before the cold arrives, and you have exactly two strategies to choose from: keep the house warm enough that water can stay in the pipes, or get the water out entirely so there's nothing left to freeze.

Which one is right depends on how long the house sits, whether you trust its heat to run unattended, and what your insurance policy demands of a vacant property. Here's the honest comparison, then the full procedure for each, including how to winterize a vacant house without heat at all.

Option 1: leave the heat on

For shorter absences, the American Red Cross guidance is specific: set the thermostat no lower than 55°F when you're away. That figure comes from the Red Cross frozen-pipes protocol, and it's the most-quoted number in winterization for good reason. It keeps interior wall cavities and floor runs above the freezing point in most homes without paying to keep an empty building cozy. Why 55°F and not something lower is covered in our guide to the minimum temperature to prevent frozen pipes.

Heat alone isn't the whole plan, though:

• Shut off the main water valve anyway. If something does fail, a closed main turns a catastrophe into a damp spot. Then crack one low faucet briefly so the lines lose their pressure.
• Leave sink-cabinet doors open in the kitchen and bathrooms; the Red Cross includes this step so room heat can find the pipes.
• Arrange a check-in. A neighbor walking through the vacant home weekly catches a dead furnace while it's still just a dead furnace.
• Read your homeowners policy. Many policies impose conditions once a house is vacant past a set period: maintained heat, water shut off, or both. The specifics vary by insurer, so verify yours before the house sits.

The weakness of Option 1 is that it outsources your plumbing's survival to a furnace running unsupervised. For a full winter, winterize the house dry instead.

Option 2: how to winterize a vacant house without heat

Ask a plumber how to winterize a vacant house without heat and you'll get one answer: drain it. The method works precisely because it removes the thing that freezes. The drill to winterize a vacation house or seasonal cabin is identical. Budget a half day the first time.

Before you start: water heater safety

The water heater is where drain-downs go wrong. Two rules. First, turn off its energy source before draining: gas models to "off" (not just "pilot"), electric models off at the breaker, because an electric element that heats a dry tank destroys itself and can start a fire. Second, respect the scald risk: the tank holds water hot enough to burn, so either let it cool for several hours or draw off hot water at a tub first. And the standing rule for any gas appliance work: if you smell gas at any point, stop, leave the building, and call 911 and your gas utility from outside.

Draining the house, in order

To winterize plumbing in a vacant house completely, work top to bottom:

1. Close the main water valve at the point the supply line comes into the house. If you want the supply killed at the street too, ask your water utility about the curb stop; that valve is usually theirs to operate.
2. Kill the water heater's power or gas as described above.
3. Work top floor to bottom, opening every faucet, hot and cold alike, plus the tub and shower valves. This lets air in so the system can actually drain.
4. Flush each toilet repeatedly until neither the tank nor the bowl refills. Sponge or scoop remaining tank water.
5. Drain the low points. Open the drain valve on the main line if the house has one (often near the main shutoff), and connect a hose to the water heater drain valve, running it to a floor drain or outside. Open the heater's drain once the tank has cooled.
6. Don't forget the appliances. Dishwasher and washing machine supply lines, the fridge icemaker line, water softener, and any filtration system all hold water. Disconnect washer hoses and drain them; follow the manual for the rest.
7. Protect the drain traps. Every P-trap (sinks, tubs, showers, floor drains) and every toilet bowl keeps a water seal that will freeze and can crack the fixture. Pour non-toxic RV antifreeze (the pink propylene-glycol type sold for plumbing, never automotive antifreeze) into each trap and toilet bowl until it displaces the water.
8. Leave it drainable. Keep all faucets open, leave cabinet and interior doors ajar, and winterize the outdoor faucets: hoses off, lines drained, covers on.
9. Tag the water heater and main valve with a note that the system is winterized, so nobody restores water to a dry, powered-down system without reversing everything.

Insulating accessible pipe runs while the house is empty is cheap insurance for the following winters (see the pipe insulation guide), but insulation is a supplement here, not a substitute for draining.

How much does it cost to winterize a vacant house?

Hiring a plumbing pro to winterize a vacant house typically runs $200-$500. The average homeowners insurance claim for water damage and freezing runs $13,954, per the Insurance Information Institute (2018-2022 claims), and a vacant house is the worst-case version of that claim, because nobody is there to shut the water off on day one. DIY costs even less: a few jugs of RV antifreeze and an afternoon. No honest arithmetic comes out in favor of skipping it.

De-winterizing in spring

Reversing what you winterize in fall takes an hour: close every faucet and drain valve, reconnect appliance lines, open the main valve slowly, then walk the house checking every fixture and visible run for leaks. Fill the water heater completely (water at every hot tap, no sputtering) before restoring its gas or power. Run each trap full of fresh water. Give ceilings and cabinet interiors one careful look over the first days back.

When to have a pro do it

Boiler or hydronic (radiator/in-floor) heat, a well and pressure tank, a sprinkler system, or any setup you can't fully trace: these systems have their own draining procedures, and getting them wrong is expensive. A licensed plumber will winterize vacant houses like these all fall. Call (800) 555-0173, tell them what the house has, and get it done in one visit; you approve the price directly with the pro. For everything else on the cold-weather list, the winterization hub is the place to start.