With below-freezing temperatures, ice and snow, Winter can be one of the harshest seasons. Just like you prepare your family and your car for winter, you should also make sure your home is ready. And the best time to start preparing your home for winter is in early Fall. When it comes to preparing your home for winter, these tips will help ensure your home is ready to face the cold realities of winter.
Home Safety
Before you turn on the heat for the first time, you should always inspect the safety devices to ensure that they are in the right working order. If necessary, you should replace the batteries in your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Once you do this, you should check whether your fire extinguishers have expired.
Schedule Furnace Maintenance
And speaking of heat, scheduling furnace maintenance is one of the most important things you can do when preparing your home for winter. By the time winter arrives, most HVAC contractors will already be busy with service calls. Therefore, in order to get the best service, you should schedule a furnace check during the Fall. This way you can catch any small problems before they become bigger and more costly. Plus, nobody wants to be without heat during the cold weather.
Improve Insulation
Improve your insulation by insulating your walls and attic properly to prevent cold air from getting into your home. When a cold draft finds its way into your home, the furnace will have to work overtime to keep your house warm, resulting in higher energy bills. If you want to save on energy expenses, you should invest in good insulation.
Check for Cracks
You should check your home’s foundation for cracks and make sure that you seal them properly. Doing so will prevent cold air from getting into your home and overworking your furnace.
Moreover, cracks that are near the windows and foundation can become an entry point for critters such as rats and mice. According to the owner of RestorationElite, cracks can cause water damage, which is quite expensive to repair.
Inspect the Roof
Another part of preparing your home for winter is to check whether your roof has any problems before the winter season arrives. Are there any loose shingles? Any leaks? You should make all the necessary repairs to your roof before the storms hit.
While you are on the roof, make sure you inspect the gutters. Although you will have to clean your gutters again after the autumn leaves have fallen, you should at least make sure that they are draining properly.
If you’re not comfortable climbing up on your roof, South Florida roofing contractors like Gustafson Roofing can help with your residential or commercial roofing needs.
Trim the Trees
If you notice any decaying limbs or dead branches on the trees in your compound, you should call a tree removal company to cut them. Such branches and limbs can become dangerous when the snow falls and puts extra weight on them. Dead limbs are also vulnerable to strong winds, making it safer for you to remove them before the winter. For those in Texas, tree service Austin by The Local Tree Experts can do this for you easily.
Reinforce Your Doors and Windows
Before the winter arrives, you should set aside a few days to replace your window and door screens with storm windows. You also need to add weather stripping to your windows and doors to prevent cold air from getting into your home.
Inspect the Water Pipes
If any areas of your plumbing are exposed to freezing temperatures, you need to fix them. Once the winter arrives, the exposed areas will cause water to freeze inside the pipes, which results in a lot of damage. To prevent this from happening, you should make sure that your water pipes are working as they are supposed to be.
Drain Garden Hoses
You might forget to drain your garden hose before winter, but this would be a costly mistake. Occasionally, the water left in a garden hose might freeze and cause it to split open. Even if your hose is cheap, you should drain the water from it if you want to avoid spending money that you can save. Just blast the water out using an air compressor or stretch out the hose on a slanted driveway.
The above maintenance tips will not only help you save money but will ensure your home is ready to face the harsh weather of winter.
Fred
Friday 12th of January 2018
Thank you, very constructive, usefull tips :)