How to Dewinterize a Park Model  | Complete Guide

Winter is a time of snow, holiday cheer, and staying indoors. If you have a park model, this might mean you have to move out and winterize it. Then you sit and wait for the warm days when you can break out the outdoor furniture, grab the camping supplies, and enjoy the coming adventures.

When that day comes, you have to undo everything you did to winterize your park model home. In this blog, I’ll take you through a step-by-step guide to de-winterizing your park model so it is ready for all the summertime enjoyment.

In this blog, we give you eight steps to teach you how to dewinterize your park model home.

1. Inspect the Exterior

As the name suggests, de-winterizing will “undo” everything you did when you winterized your park model. The first thing you should do is inspect the exterior of your park model. This means looking around the outside for cracks or leaks that can form from ice and snow build-up. If, in the unfortunate case, you do find a crack or leak, check to see if your park model warranty will cover it. 

2. Test for faulty pipes

After checking to make sure there isn’t any exterior damage, it’s time to test it to make sure there aren’t any leaks. Quite honestly, this is the one that most people feel anxious about because if its not done right, it can lead to a lot of problems and a lot of headaches.

Connect your tasteless odorless hose to the water pressure regulator at the water source, which should be a garden hose hook-up, at your site. Turn the water on and make sure all of your faucets are open.

If you notice a leak, shut the water off quickly to prevent interior damage.

Leaks are most commonly found under the sink and around the toilet. If you find a leak, you can fix it yourself or call a repair person if you feel unable to.

3. Flush the Water System

When you winterize a park model, you have to put a non-toxic antifreeze solution into the water system. Now that you are using your park model again, no one wants to drink antifreeze. This is why you have to flush it out. Start the process by reconnecting the park model to its water source.

Add fresh water to the tank, then turn on all the faucets, shower heads, sinks, and any appliance that uses water ( like a washing machine). Start pumping the water into the system. Leave the appliances on until they start running clear.  Flush the toilet a couple of times to get any antifreeze out of the tank. Now, you can stop the pump and turn off the faucets. 

There is one more thing that you have to do to flush the water system. The water heater. If you have your water heater on bypass, then you can skip to the next step. If not,  then do the following. Drain the water heater BEFORE you put back any filter cartridges. To learn how to drain the water heater, watch this video.

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4. Sanitize the Water System

Yep, we are still on the water system.

This is the second most important part of dewinterizing. To sanitize, start by installing drain plugs and closing all the drains. Then, mix a solution of ¼ cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of water your freshwater tank holds. Dump the bleach into a bucket and add about a gallon of water.

Pour the bleach solution into the tank and fill the rest of the way with potable water. Turn on the water pump to let the solution run through the pipes. Open all the faucets, showers, and toilets, and let them run until you smell bleach at each faucet.

Do this for both hot and cold. When you smell bleach, shut off the faucets and let the solution sit in the pipes for 3-12 hours.

After the solution has set, open the drains and let the water drain from the system. Fill the freshwater tank with fresh water and turn on the pump. Flush the system until you can no longer smell bleach at the faucets.

5. Check Propane Systems

Some park models rely on propane to offer heating and power. If your park model does not, then you can skip this step. (At this time, none of Zook Cabins are heated by propane, but we want to make an all-encompassing guide to help everyone who goes through the dewinterization process.)

As we mentioned before, propane is a way some park models get heat. It is important to keep the propane up to date and running. It can also be dangerous if there is an undetected leak.

Start by putting the propane tanks and hoses back. When you go to attach the hoses to the tanks, apply a bit of soapy water on the attachment point. When you attach it and turn on the propane, if there are bubbles, this may indicate a gas leak. Tighten the attachment and try again.  If the bubbles persist, it would be a good idea to purchase a replacement propane hose and start the process again.

After you have reinstalled everything, test the appliances to make sure they work. (ie, turn on the oven, furnace, and stove) If they do not work properly, schedule an inspection. As mentioned earlier, propane leaks can be very dangerous. Make sure to check the date on all of your propane tanks and swap them out for new ones if needed. 

6. Check Electrical Systems and Generator

Winter can affect the electrical systems of your park model exponentially. Test to make sure that everything works fine by turning on the electrical appliances. These include the radio, microwave, refrigerator, AC units, lights, etc.

Then, move on to the generator. If your park model has one, this part is for you; if not, you can skip this step.

Make sure to check the generator’s oil levels before testing it. If the oil is low, make sure you get it serviced by a professional. Then, check the exhaust system. If you operate the generator with a faulty exhaust, it can cause damage to the generator and a lot of smelly fumes to linger around your site.

Now, you can test the generator. Start it up and let it run for a few minutes. After this, run it under a load of a few appliances and listen for any weird noises.

7. Check the interior

Take a look around the interior and make sure the rest of the appliances are working properly. Make sure there isn’t any interior damage. Then, move on to checking the safety devices. These include smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and fire extinguishers.

Make sure everything is up to date and has new batteries. Test the alarms and check to make sure the fire extinguishers are not expired, and if they are, buy new ones. This is also a great time to check your first-aid kit and make sure that you have everything you need in the event of an emergency.

8. Cleaning

Now that all of the main de-winterizing tasks are finished, you can move on to cleaning. This step is most important if you plan to have guests stay in your park model. Cleaning can help keep your park model feeling fresh all season long.

Start by washing windows and screens. Then move on to cleaning the floors, including sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming. Then move to the exterior. It could be dirty with snow and ice, possibly having built up on the outside of your park model.

Try soft washing the dirt off. Soft washing uses a mixture of cleaners and low pressure to remove dirt, while pressure washing uses high pressure to blast the dirt away. After this, your park model should be ready to go.

Conclusion

De-winterizing is an essential part of owning a park model. Now that you have completed the steps outlined above, your park model should be ready for all the upcoming adventures. Also, keep monitoring your park model to ensure there isn’t any damage during the season. I hope this article helped ensure your park model is ready for the season ahead.