Preparing your home for winter is an important annual ritual for homeowners and for those who live in a cold climate know that winter can really take its toll on a house. This winter take all the necessary precautions before winter sets in so you can keep warm and of course, save some money along the way. If you follow these winter home care tips you will be well on your way to giving maximum care, which can save on future maintenance bills.
Winter is in full swing now, so it’s a good time to keep a check on how your home is faring against the weather. If you didn’t have a chance prepare your home in the fall, there’s a good chance you’ve got some work to do. Real estate professionals say that the effort to winterize your home can lower homeowners’ energy consumption by a whopping 35% on average. In addition, you can also reduce your annual energy cost by 32%. As an added bonus weatherization efforts boast a strong ration of savings from the home improvement investment. For example, for every $1 that is spent on looking after your home when it comes to drafts and insulation, you’ll reap back a return of about $1.70 back into your bank account.
Here’s a quick winter home maintenance checklist to help you get things in shape. Devoting the time to take care of your property beforehand will help you to avoid costly repairs come spring.
Cover Your Outdoor FurnitureSo you don’t have room to bring your outdoor furniture inside during the bad weather? Make sure to keep them covered during the winter months. But instead of buying pricey furniture covers, protect lawn chairs and tables by covering them with large plastic bags – the kind you use to bag the dry leaves in autumn. They are sturdy and good tape will be more than enough to keep them together. If you have metal deck furniture, apply a bit of petroleum jelly to areas where they've been known to rust to prevent them from rusting during the winter season.
Skip the Rock SaltIt’s not winter unless you have ice on your sidewalk right? Throw cat litter down instead of rock salt. It won’t harm your grass, stain your clothes, or hurt the environment, but it will provide plenty of traction for safe walking and driving. Another alternative is to use anti-slip gravel over your walkways as well as the driveways – it's just another trick to prevent slips and falls when the snow beats down. Make sure you have lots of tools – all in working order! – and salt and/or gravel for when the snow storms come.
Don’t forget the interior!
It goes without saying that the interior of your home needs the utmost care in winter. Considering the difficulty of snow storms it will not always be possible to have someone come out to your home. Here are a few things for you to check:
YOUR INSULATION
Are you sure the insulation in your home is sufficient to protect your family from the cold? Insulation is critical and it is the first thing that people need to tend to when caring for their home.
- It’s always a good idea to add extra insulation in the attic to help guard against ice dams. Ice dams usually develop along roof eaves, above the plate line of exterior walls. Heat lost from homes aggravates snow melting and ice-dam development. Ice dams happen when too much heat escapes into the attic. It can warm the ice and snow on the roof. When it refreezes, it can cause an ice dam, which can lead to water damage inside your home or possibly even a roof collapse.
- Add weather stripping around doors and caulk windows to guard against drafts and heat loss.
- Remove screens from windows and install storm windows, if this is necessary for the area that you live in.
Clean out that fireplace!
Nothing is better than having a hot cup of chocolate in front of a fireplace. A fireplace keeps things warm and cozy at home and at the same time, it is so easy and inexpensive to look after. The only thing is that it must be cleaned once a year just before you begin to use it during the fall and winter. Following a chilly winter, there’s a good chance that creosote — an extremely flammable oil produced by coal or wood ash smoke — can build up on the interior of the chimney of the fireplace. If it’s not cleaned out then it can catch fire when you light your fireplace. Don’t use it until it’s cleaned out otherwise a chimney fire could occur at any time. To get your fireplace fire-ready, schedule a chimney cleaner to rid your chimney of creosote and other build-ups.
Check your plumbing If your plumbing pipes being to make strange noises, then it’s likely that the cold weather is probably putting a strain on them. If your pipes are old get them looked at by a qualified plumber. Also, if you live in an area that’s known to have below-freezing weather is another reason for scheduled maintenance. When water builds up in pipes and freezes, it can lead way to many problems including leaks, cracks, and breaks. If this happens, you will definitely need a plumber to come out and fix your pipes to avoid flooding. This also gives you a chance to update your pipes should they need it. Having said that, it’s always a good idea to have your pipes checked before there is damage.