Turning on Furnace/Heat in a Winterized Home

colleen conway · Joined: 04 Feb 2009 Posts: 1 Location: illinois

i am purchasing a foreclosed townhouse that is 3-4 years old in Illinois. house has been empty for a year with no heat, water was shut off. i have been advised when starting to heat the house to start the thermostat at 50 degrees and each day raise temp 5-10 degrees because there may be moisture problems. need some advice

jholmes · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 69 Location: Eagan, MN

This is definitely possible if your living in the town house right away or there's an april air system installed on the furnace.

The moister problem comes from a cold soaked home coming in contact with warm and relatively moist air. The only way the air would be relatively moist is if you introduced moister to it because right now the air is cold and 'dry'. If you just warm up the house the air will remain relatively dry. However, if you live in the home and introduce moister (showers, washing dishes/clothing, or a humidifier) then there's a good chance cold-soaked parts of the house will start condensing that moister...This can cause mold issues.

To minimize the chance of moister it is a good idea if you gradually heat up the house and let the structure of the home gradually soak up that heat also.

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