How To Blow Out Your House Plumbing For Winterization

Originally recorded November 29, 2015.

If you have a cabin or summer home, you may wish to close it down for the colder season(s). While you can set the heat in the house very low, if you drain the plumbing in the house (which would also include hydronic heating), the heat can be shut off completely without risk of pipes bursting.

This video demonstrates a method for blowing out the plumbing in your house. While this may not cover every aspect of your home, it should serve as a good guide and at the very least, provide ideas on how to perform this operation.

Utilizing an air compressor (I had a 6-gallon air compressor for this task), I was able to blow out most of the water in the plumbing system, including the hot water tank.

Make sure you cover every area in and out of your home that deals with water. This would include every sink, shower, tub, faucet, toilet, drain, dishwasher, fridge ice maker, water cooler, humidifier, cooling tower, etc.--every single one of these needs to be dealt with. The video shows the easiest methods I have devised to do this.

I had opted to blow most of the hot water out of the tank with the compressed air because the water heater can act as a pressure vessel to assist you in removing the water from the pipes. By utilizing the compressed air, you can expel the water from the tank and pipes faster.

You will want at least 1 bottle of RV antifreeze to protect the drains from freezing. This can usually be purchased at a mass retailer such as WalMart for just a few dollars. You may have all of the other tools to do this service, but if not you can improvise and create your own tools and methods, or purchase items similar to what I used.