10/23/2025
CONTINENTAL COMMUNITIES
Winterizing Your Manufactured Home
Preparing your manufactured home for winter is extremely important. Some of these tips listed below are unique to manufactured homes and the communities where they reside. The following items are merely suggestions for maintaining your home and to help save you from high water bills, annoying freeze ups and in many cases costly home plumbing repairs or DAMAGE CHARGES from the community for broken meters, water repairs due to broken heat, unplugged heat tape or missing skirting.
• Skirting should be installed with no gaps, breaks, missing panels etc., keeping in mind to allow adequate ventilation so that odor or condensation problems do not occur. Make sure all drain lines from air conditioner, heat pump, etc. drain to outside of home skirting.
• Close all access points in skirting to keep rodents and other wild animals from living under your home. This will also keep the cold winds from blowing under your home and freezing pipes.
• Adjust storm door closures for proper closing action and latch function to prevent excessive air infiltration.
• Vent the clothes dryer directly outside the home. Improper venting will contribute to major condensation problems in the home.
• Water lines under the home should be protected by wrapping them with approved heat tape. At the beginning of cold weather, check to be sure heat tapes are plugged in and in good working condition. If you are planning on being away for an extended period of time, it is best to shut off the water supply completely. Check to make sure the water crock/shutoff outside of your home is covered and insulated to keep the shut off and or water meter from freezing.
• Sewer/plumbing pipes should flow at a proper angle for good drainage. If your sewer line has any sag or low spots, tie the line up to the frame or place a block underneath. Water will lie in these low spots and freeze.
• Furnace filters should be installed and cleaned regularly (monthly if possible) as air cannot pass through a dirty filter thereby increasing your operating costs.
• Check for ice or snow buildup around your furnace or water heater roof caps. It is important to keep this area open to provide proper operation.
• During periods of severe cold, leave cupboard and closet doors open at night and when you are away so that heat may circulate in these otherwise cold areas. This will help keep pipes in the floor and walls warm.
• Avoid pouring small amounts of liquid into sinks and toilets, as a small amount of liquid by itself may freeze in your drain in severe cold weather. Do not leave a small stream of water running from the faucet as this will cause sewer lines to freeze. This will also increase your water costs; this also causes issues with our water wells, decreasing water pressure and possible damage.
• Check the underside of your home for any holes in the belly board. Be sure all heat registers are in working order and sealed. Replace any inoperative or damaged registers.
• On multi-section homes, make sure a crossover pipe is installed to both halves of the home and is in good working condition. There should be no holes and no water in this pipe, and it should be fully insulated.
• Plastic is not permitted in windows, so check the window seals for air, caulk where necessary.
• Fix all plumbing leaks to keep sewer line from freezing. Toilet tank leaks can be small and unobservable, however can double the cost of your monthly water bill. To check tank for leak, tie the float up in the evening; and if the tank is lower in the morning, you will know that you have a leak or contact a plumber to do a thorough check.
• Keep any fuel tanks as full as possible to avoid freezing.
• Unhook garden hoses in order to allow freeze-proof faucets to drain. Turn off water shut off at hose bibs.
• Do not leave animals out unattended in the cold.
• Always clear snow and ice from your driveway, sidewalk, deck, and stairs. Remove snow from the roof of the home, especially around the perimeter, if left, ice may form causing roofing material to lift or shift and when the ice melts, moisture may get under shingles causing water damage to the roof and ceiling.
• NEVER SHUT OFF THE HEAT IN YOUR HOME DURING WINTER MONTHS.
