the.com/winterization
Breaking up with your pipes before winter breaks them for you.
means The process of prepping a home, vehicle, or machine to survive cold weather — draining pipes, sealing drafts, adding antifreeze — so winter doesn't do it for you.
from A straightforward 20th-century formation: 'winter' plus the busy suffix '-ize' (meaning 'to make or treat with') plus '-ation' to turn the action into a noun. English loves building verbs this way — 'winterize' joined siblings like 'pasteurize' and 'weatherize' — and it caught on hard in mid-1900s America, where seasonal car and home maintenance became a national ritual, complete with ads urging you to winterize before the frost did your plumbing's job for it.
- core task
- draining water so it cannot freeze and expand
- rv lifesaver
- antifreeze replaces water in plumbing lines
- insurance angle
- vacant homes often require it for coverage
- skip it cost
- burst pipes average thousands in water damage