Smith Lake Property

Your Smith Lake property needs your attention in the winter too. Although Smith Lake does not experience extreme cold like northern areas of the United States,but we do experience some freezing temperatures during some of the winter months. If this is your first winter owning Smith Lake property, these winter tips will probably interest you. Since the water level falls during the winter on Smith Lake, this is a good time to inspect your dock’s anchor point and guide cables. Make sure that they are in good repair and adjusted properly. Always leave a little slack in the cables to allow your dock to move a little. If you do not allow your dock to move and flex, it WILL break sooner than expected. If your Smith Lake property is in a seasonal part of the lake, make certain that your dock is adjusted so that it can sit flat on the bottom of the lake relieving any potential stress on the structure. If you have a pump on your dock to use lake water, make sure to winterize it also. Turn the pump off, and drain all of the piping including any sprinkler systems. This will prevent your pump or pipes from freezing and breaking. Remove all hoses from outside faucets, and wrap the faucets to prevent freezing. If your Smith Lake property happens to have boat lifts, be sure to inspect the hoses that pump air into the lifts. If these hoses fail, your boat will not be where you left it. As a safety precaution, I would recommend tying your boat to your dock with a loose line to insure that your boat does not leave your dock in the event that your boat lift fails. This does not happen often, but you need to be aware that it is a possibility. Don’t forget to winterize your boat during the freezing months. This will prevent your engine from freezing. If your engine freezes, it can crack the engine block or the exhaust manifolds causing very expensive repairs. There are several companies on Smith Lake that provide boat winterization services. They will even come to your dock and perform the winterization of your boat on your boat lift eliminating the need for boat storage. When storing your boat during the winter months, be sure to keep outboard motors and outdrives tilted all the way down. This allows water to drain from the foot which will prevent the lower unit from freezing and breaking. If your Smith Lake property is not occupied during the winter months, leave the heat on if possible to prevent freezing and to help control the humidity inside your home. Humidity can cause mold, mildew, and the floors to buckle. If you are going to be away from your lake house for an extended period, consider turning off the water at the water meter valve. Drain the water lines by opening all faucets including outside faucets. If you turn the water off, be sure to also turn the water heater off. Do this by flipping the circuit breaker. This will prevent burning up your water heater with no water. Use RV antifreeze to winterize all of the toilets if you decide not to heat the Smith Lake property. First, hold flush lever down to remove all water from the tank. Pour RV antifreeze into the tank, and flush the toilet so that the antifreeze is caught in the drain trap. You will also need to pour some of this antifreeze in each sink, tub, and shower to winterize these drains also. Remember to clean your gutters after all of the leaves fall. This will keep your gutters from overflowing when it rains which could cause excessive amounts of water to wash up against the house and potentially enter the house. While I realize that I have probably not covered everything that you will need to know this winter, I do hope these tips help you to protect your new Smith Lake property. Click www.HousesOnSmithLake.com to return to home page.