As winter approaches every year, it’s time to think about preparing your home for the cold and potentially windy, snowy days ahead.
Weather stripping is your friend. You can install weather strips around your door and window frames to help keep warm air inside and cold air outside. If you have storm windows, now’s the time to install them and say “see you next spring” to the screens. Some people use plastic sheeting to cover their windows to further insulate their home, especially in the rather drafty rooms. You can also add foam or caulk to any cracks in the walls to seal them up.
If you have a chimney or wood-burning stove, perhaps have a professional come and inspect it before firing it up, just to make sure everything is in proper working order. After all, you don’t want any issues with smoke in the house, or worse– an out-of-control fire.
For those of you who used a hose to water your lawn and garden this past summer, it’s a good idea to stop the water flowing to your outdoor spigot(s) so it doesn’t freeze up this winter– typically you can access a water flow control knob in the home’s basement and “turn it off.”
Since your furnace and/or boiler will probably get heavy use during the winter, consider having them serviced to ensure they’re in good working order. Also, check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and clean out any vents, such as the dryer vent. And, though it’s not a clean job, make sure your gutters are free of debris so they’ll function as intended when the sleet, rain, snow and ice pound them this winter.
A little preventative maintenance now can save a lot of headaches and frustration in the winter.
