Winter looks different from one Harmony community to the next. Some see a few frosty mornings. Others, in the mountains or farther north, get snow and long stretches below freezing. Wherever you live, a few quick jobs done now protect your home when the cold arrives.
A manufactured home has winter weak spots that a site-built house does not. Your water lines run under the floor, kept warm only by your skirting, the insulation under the home and the heat tape on the main water line. Many homes also have a low-slope roof, where water and leaves sit longer and a small crack in the sealant can become a leak. A split pipe or a stained ceiling usually starts as something small, which is why an hour with a flashlight in October can save you a flooded floor in January.
Below are ten checks you can do yourself, habits for the coldest nights, extra steps for RVs and park models, and who to call when a job is too big.
Outside your home.
Walk slowly around your home with a flashlight. Look low first, at the skirting and pipes, then up at the roof, vents and gutters. Tick each step as you finish it.
Your 10-step winter checklist
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- Push loose panels back and replace cracked or missing ones, so cold air and animals stay out. Skirting vents let moisture escape from under the home, so keep them clear of leaves, snow and stored items.
- The pipe that comes up from the ground into your home is usually wrapped in heat tape. Before the first freeze, plug it into an outdoor GFCI outlet, never an extension cord, and check that its light comes on, if it has one. Replace tape that is cracked, frayed or scorched. Insulate over it only if the tape maker allows it.
- The fabric under your home, often called the bottom board, holds the floor insulation in place. Look for tears, holes or sagging insulation. Small tears can be patched with tape made for bottom boards.
- Look for cracked, peeling or missing sealant along the seams and edges and around every vent. Reseal small gaps on a dry day with a sealant made for your roof type. Clear leaves and pine needles off the roof and out of the gutters. If you are not steady on a ladder, do not climb alone.
- Put in a new filter and check it every month or two. Keep the return-air grille clear (on many manufactured homes it is on the furnace closet door) and store nothing in the furnace closet. Make sure nothing blocks the flue on your roof, then book a furnace service before the first cold night.
- Press the test button on every alarm and put in fresh batteries. Replace any smoke alarm more than 10 years old (the date is on the back). Keep a carbon monoxide alarm near the bedrooms.
- On a windy day, feel for drafts around doors and windows. Add weatherstrip, a door sweep or caulk where you feel one, and put up storm windows if you have them.
- Know where it is and how to close it, so you can act fast if a pipe bursts. It is often under the home, near where the water line comes up. If you cannot find it or it will not turn, ask your office. Planning a long trip in freezing weather? Talk to your office before you go.
- Check your tank level before a cold snap, and keep the area around the tank clear of leaves, snow and stored items. If you ever smell gas, do not flip switches or light anything. Leave right away and call 911 from a safe distance.
- Where you can see them, look at the straps and anchors that hold your home down. If you see rust, a slack strap or anything that looks wrong, tell your office. Before storms, put away or tie down patio furniture, planters and bins.
Ticks are not saved. Print this page for a paper copy.
An hour with a flashlight in October can save you a flooded floor in January.
Inside your home.
On the coldest nights, a few small habits keep your pipes from freezing.
- Open the cabinet doors under your sinks so warm air can reach the pipes. Move cleaners out of reach of children and pets.
- Let a faucet drip when a hard freeze is forecast. Even a slow trickle helps keep a pipe from freezing.
- Keep the heat steady. Keep your thermostat at the same temperature day and night during a cold snap. If you go away, leave the heat on and set it no lower than 55°F.
- Never thaw a pipe with an open flame. If only a trickle comes out of a faucet, a pipe may be frozen. Leave the faucet open and call for help.
Important
Never heat your home with a gas oven, stove or grill. They can fill your home with carbon monoxide or start a fire. If your carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone outside and call 911. If you use a space heater, plug it straight into a wall outlet, never an extension cord or power strip. Keep it at least 3 feet from anything that can burn, and turn it off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
Living in an RV or park model?
Most of the list above applies to you too. Your water, tanks and heat are even more exposed, so add these steps.
- Protect your water hose. Use a heated water hose, or wrap yours in heat tape and insulation, plugged into a GFCI outlet.
- Keep your tanks from freezing. Tank heaters made for RV holding tanks help in freezing weather. Keep your gray and black tank valves closed until you dump, so liquid does not sit in the drain hose and freeze.
- Add skirting. Skirting blocks the wind and keeps your tanks and pipes warmer. Check with your office before you add it, and never cover your furnace, water heater or refrigerator vents.
- Plan for more propane. Your furnace works harder in the cold, so check your levels often and refill before a cold snap.
- Fight condensation. Moisture from cooking and showers collects on cold windows and walls. Crack a roof vent, use your vent fans and run a dehumidifier if you can.
- Keep your furnace exhaust clear. After every snowfall, check that snow, skirting and stored items are not blocking the furnace exhaust on the outside of your RV. A blocked exhaust can push carbon monoxide inside.
When to call us.
If a job is bigger than you want to take on, or you are not sure whose job it is, your community office can help you work out the next step. Save these numbers in your phone today, before you need them.
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Day to day
Your community office
For day-to-day questions, start with your community's on-site office or manager.
Online
Maintenance requests
Send a maintenance request or pay rent in Resident Login, our online resident portal.
Any time
Emergency: 911
Fire, medical or gas leak: call 911.
Mon to Fri, 9 am to 5 pm
Harmony Communities office
If you can't reach your community office, or you have a question for the whole company.
That's the list: ten checks, a few cold-night habits and a warmer, calmer winter. Thank you for taking care of your home.
