The National Weather Service gave the Morongo Basin its first freeze warning on Sunday morning (November 26.) With temperatures dropping below 32 degree Fahrenheit, it’s a good time to think about preparing your house for winter, especially if you are one of the many homes that run a swamp cooler.
If this was your first summer with a swamp cooler, you were probably pretty pleased with how cool they can get your house, at least on low-humidity days. Unlike air conditioners which use a sealed coolant system and don’t require much maintenance between seasons – a swamp cooler is hooked up to your water and is susceptible to some cold weather damage if not properly prepared.
Winterizing your Swamp Cooler Quick List:
- Locate and turn off the tap / feed line to your swamp cooler
- Drain the line and swamp cooler tray if there is any residual water, although it will most likely evaporate
- You can purchase a swamp cooler cover, or cover it with a tarp. Beware the hi-desert “murder winds” which can tear an un-secured swamp cooler off easily
- The interior vent can also be a spot where heat escapes – blocking this off can help keep in the cozy.
Locating this tap and turning it off is the easiest and perhaps most important step in preparing your swamp cooler for the cold months, as the feed lines can easily freeze and burst, leaving you with a leak on your roof and a lot of wasted water.
Getting a swamp cooler cover and firmly attaching it to survive the murder winds is a great way to keep wind and water out, and temporarily blocking or insulating your swamp cooler’s interior vent is a simple way to keep the coziness in when it becomes time to flip the switch on your thermostat to heat.
There are plenty of businesses that will do all of this for you in the Morongo Basin, but if you are the DIY type these basic steps can keep your swamp cooler winterized and out of mind until those temperatures start creeping back up in spring.
