How to Winterize Your Manufactured Home

Winters can be harsh in a manufactured home, especially if you haven’t winterized it correctly. Heating and electricity bills can skyrocket if you’re unprepared, for example, and the infrastructure of your home can break down if the winter is harsh enough. With temperatures dropping, and winter in the near future, it is time to start to take the steps necessary to keep your home safe and warm in the coming months.

Everything You Need to Winterize Your Manufactured or Mobile Home

  1. Exterior Insulation: Spray foam insulation or polyurethane caulking is imperative to successfully protecting the outside of your home during winter. Walk around the outside of your home, and note any holes that lead to the interior. Fill these airways, and remember to include the area where the water and/or furnace pipes enter your home. Other places to consider insulating are: gutter and downspout seams, seams between roof and siding, door and window frames, siding joints, around the dryer vent, and at the TV antenna wire entrance if you have one.

  2. Window & Door Insulation: One of the most common ways for a home to lose heat is through its windows and exterior doors. Thusly, weather stripping seams is extremely important. If your home has storm windows, check to make sure they have been installed properly. Apply weather stripping where necessary.  Alternatively, you can purchase a shrink wrap kit to cover your current windows to keep the draft out.

  3. Water Heater Protection: A water heater on a manufactured or mobile home is typically outside through an access door. This poses a potential issue because the water heater is not insulated by the home itself. To protect your water heater, wrap an insulation blanket around it and heat tape around water pipes.

  4. Avoid Having Frozen Pipes: Heat tape is a useful tool to protect pipes from freezing in the winter. The tape contains a heating element that warms the pipes when it is applied. Remember to check this every year for efficacy. If tape is already installed, ensure that it is not worn or lose. Never overlap heat tape as it could start a fire, and remember to follow the manufacturer’s instructions exactly.

  5. Metal Roof Protection: If your home has a metal roof, you need to check the seams of it. Drafts can come through these seams causing your home to be colder and your heating bills to increase. Seal the seams of the metal roof using butyl tape and waterproof roof caulk. You will also need to caulk around any plumbing pipes, vents, skylights and other openings that protrude from the roof. Also check the seams where the roof adjoins the siding

  6. Furnace Maintenance: A furnace can pose a fire risk in your home if it is not maintained. Remember to replace or clean filters, and clean the exhaust vent and thermostat. A yearly, professional inspection of your furnace is recommended. The technician will check fuel lines, safety controls, burner and flue pipe to ensure it is in working order and offer suggestions for the upcoming winter.

When winterizing your home, always ensure that airways are sealed, fire hazards are mitigated, and your home can properly bend and flex with the temperatures. If you have any questions, consult a professional or contact your office manager for more information about how our maintenance staff can help you prepare for winter.