Winter is coming! Winter is coming! OH wait, winter is here. Here are six ways to prepare your home for winter. Please don’t wait until it’s too late; make preparations now!
Tune-up your heating system
Depending on where you live, you may or may not have needed to use your heating system in full force up until now. As Californians, it’s remained relatively warm with minimal heat usage – up until now. It’s a great time to check out your furnace, boiler, HVAC system and make sure they have a proper tune-up to make sure.
Reverse your ceiling fans
According to Energy Star, the fan will produce an updraft and push down the heated air from the ceiling to the bottom. As we know, heat rises, making many people wait a while before they’re able to enjoy the heat in their home. Utilizing this method allows the ceilings to help push the heat down towards you and keep you extra toasty! Not sure about you, but nothing is more frustrating than thinking the heater isn’t working than realizing it’s just gravitated at the top for a little longer than necessary.
Fix air leaks to prevent water damage
If you haven’t already fixed all these issues during fall-winter is time to check for leaks to prevent water damage. Our most recommended place to start is with the roof – look for damaged, loose, or missing shingles that may leak during winter storms. Fix these issues before the rain, snow, or hail starts to hit to help eliminate more severe problems like water damage that may come into the home and affect other areas.
Check all weather stripping around windows and doorframes.
Check weather stripping – replace when necessary, and if you need to do some caulking – get it done. Keep indoor weather in and outdoor weather out. Windows and doors let in more temperature than most people realize. If the gaps between the siding and window/door are more significant than the nickel’s width, I highly recommend applying exterior caulk to fix this.
Clean the gutters
If your gutters are full of debris, litter, or other “fun” stuff, it can cause water to back up!! The last thing you want is to cause roof damage or potential leaks, resulting in water damage! Clean those gutters!
If you haven’t already, turn off exterior faucets! [And drain your lawn-irrigation system ]
Most people start preparing their outside freeze during fall, but if you haven’t already done it, make sure you turn off exterior faucets to prevent freeze and pipe bursts. Include garden hoses and drip systems you may have outside. Make sure to let them drip out any extra water they may have in them – this will help avoid freezing. It may also be a good idea to turn your shut-off valve off in some instances, but this depends on the type of faucets you have. Make sure to store garden hoses or anything else that is removable properly. Depending on the weather where you live – it might be a good idea to wrap outside faucets [ just like you would with your plants ].
These are just a few ways that we recommend preparing your home for winter! It’s always a great idea to train at the start of winter – if not before. Please don’t wait until it’s too late to get things up and to move.
