Cabin Maintenance For The Winter Season

Winter is coming, and with it, harsh weather conditions and all the more possibility of your cabin facing rough conditions which could impact the overall quality of the cabin itself or even damage it. 

Either way, you'll want to find your cabin in as great of a quality as possible for the upcoming spring season. That way, you won't have to do nearly as much upkeep as you normally would if you didn't take the necessary precautions before winter hits. 

Taking extra steps to ensure your cabin is foolproof for the harsh Canadian winters is a great idea towards taking those weekends off, or coming back to a gorgeous cabin in the spring almost exactly the way you left it. 

We've come up with a list of steps that are crucial to the maintenance of your cabin this winter season, all without even needing to spend a dime, so you don't need to break the bank to take care of your cabin home.

Deep Clean Your Cabin

This may seem like an obvious one, however you would be surprised at the many spots people don't think they need to clean in order to make sure their cabin is ready for the worst of the winter season. 

Beginning with making sure all windows are washed to the best of your ability, which includes ensuring holes and cracks are sealed up and taken care of, as well as vacuuming and mopping floors, making sure your home is empty of any and all food, and keeping the kitchen spotless is essential. 

Food will be a very big cause of disturbance if not properly thrown out and made sure all is rid of. The nightmare situation you would not like to come back to your cabin in the spring season is to find rodents and pests all around your cabin, as not only will this drive up costs to get rid of, but it may mean keeping your cabin closed until later.

Reducing Energy Consumption 

Setting all appliances you can think of to “vacation mode” is a crucial step in not only conserving energy, but more importantly, keeping the costs of bills as low as possible when it comes to most people's secondary home. 

Many major HVAC appliances such as water heaters, furnaces, heaters, etc have vacation mode settings which will keep the appliances on, yet at a lower level to conserve energy and cost. 

If you don't have a vacation mode on certain appliances, knowing what needs to be on to an extent will help in understanding what you can turn off fully or potentially leave on a much lower level for the season. 

Inspecting The Exterior Of Your Cabin 

Remember, the exterior is just as important as the interior. Starting with removing tall weeds and other plants that sit right on the outside of your cabin is a great start to avoiding the pests that like to lurk within them and find their way in your home. 

Inspecting for general damage to the cabin is critical, as you can avoid further damage to these problem areas by fixing them now, whether it be issues with the pipes, trim, windows, or more, it's better to deal with the issue now. 

Cleaning the gutters is another significant step in avoiding future problems, which can become much larger. As blocked gutters can over time cause massive damage to your roof or attic, especially with the water damage from the winter season.