Closing a Vacation Home for the Winter

If you're lucky enough to have a summer house, there still comes a sad moment when you have to close it up for winter. Taking the right precautions can save you a loads of trouble and help you get things together next year. Start with a thorough cleaning, in the process trashing varmint-magnets like food, unsealed spices and stacks of newspapers (a favorite bug breeding ground). Then, try to enhance air flow to help reduce mustiness. A few examples: defrost your fridge and leave the door open; open storage-area doors; flip up pillows and mattresses. Cover dust-absorbing furniture like sofas or upholstered chairs with storage tarps. If freezing conditions are an issue, you'll want a plumber to help shut down the pipes and water heater properly. And fill toilets, sinks and water-using appliances with a half-water-half-antifreeze mixture to protect drains. Finally, you should shut off the electricity and gas, assuming they are not crucial to any heating, ventilation or security systems you want to leave running

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