How to Leave Your Summer Home for Winter with Peace of Mind?
Autumn brings people back to the city, and for many summer cottage owners, it means preparing summer cottages for their winter sleep. Unfortunately, ERGO insurance experience shows that unexpected incidents often happen at summer cottages during the autumn and winter period, and some of these can create a big hole in your wallet. To prepare a summer cottage for winter hibernation, it's worth gathering most things together, turning them off or closing them, says ERGO's claims management department head Caterina Lepvalts.
Pack up scattered items
Starting with the simpler things – collect all items from outside. Autumn storms can carry loose items away and, for example, blow them into neighbors' yards and, in the worst case, damage their fence or house. Strong winds can lift both improperly secured greenhouses and trampolines that bring joy to children high into the air.
Unguarded items also tempt light-fingered thieves. They often lurk around summer cottages and wait for the moment when there's no one home to steal garden tools and furniture from outside, which can be quite a valuable haul. Therefore, it's worth putting everything under lock and key to minimize the risk of theft.
Even a fake security camera can help
A security system and outdoor lighting work well against thieves. Even if you don't have a real security system, a fake security camera can also be useful – thieves are deterred by the knowledge that the place is being monitored constantly.
It's fortunate if there are neighbors nearby who live there year-round and with whom you have good relations. You can let them know about your departure, and they may even be willing to keep an eye on your house occasionally to make sure everything is fine.
Still, before leaving, close the summer cottage doors and windows properly and draw the curtains. Often, thieves are attracted to things they can see.
Empty the pipes and turn off the electricity
Before leaving the summer cottage for a long period, you must turn off the water and in unheated rooms definitely drain the pipes. Otherwise, the pipe system can freeze and burst when frost arrives, and when the weather warms up again, it brings serious flooding.
Check all pipes and taps and verify that the heating is working. If the house has an air heat pump, it will maintain a plus temperature in the rooms. Of course, if rare frost arrives, it's reasonable to check whether everything is functioning properly and the summer cottage hasn't gotten too cold.
Similarly, it's important to check the electrical system. When leaving the summer cottage for winter, you should leave the power grid with only the minimal necessary to avoid having to worry about power outages or potential fire hazards from electrical devices. If you can remove all household items from the electrical network, you can simply switch the power off directly from the panel.
In general, many of the same accidents that happen in summer cottages happen in regular homes – broken water pipes, thefts, and fallen trees. Therefore, it's wise to protect your summer cottage with home insurance, which can help in case of such unpleasant surprises.
