Why is it important to winterize your RV?
Put simply, any water that is in your plumbing and fixtures will freeze during the cold weather. When water freezes it expands which causes damage. Pipes, water tanks, faucets and showers can be broken when this happens.
Winterizing is the process of removing all water from your tanks and water lines and replacing it with RV antifreeze. It’s important to only use RV antifreeze and not auto antifreeze. Automotive antifreeze is highly toxic. RV antifreeze will not harm you if you would accidentally ingest some of it.
Don’t forget to winterize items like: faucets, commode, shower, outside shower, dishwasher, washing machine, ice maker, water filtration system, water heater, water pump, wet bay valves.
Winterizing an RV typically involves draining your water heater and setting the valves to the bypass position. This prevents your water heater from being filled with the RV antifreeze.
Then add RV antifreeze to the system. There are several ways to do this, the most common being a winterizing hose that is near your water pump. Open the valve to this hose and put it in a jug or bucket of antifreeze. The water pump will draw the antifreeze out and pump it into your system.
Run all fixtures until you see the pink antifreeze coming out. Make sure any drain traps have antifreeze in them.
Finally dump all fresh, grey and black tanks so they are empty.