As winter rolls around once again, it’s essential to prepare your home for the coming weather. Fortunately, getting your home ready for the cold isn’t difficult – you just have to add the right things to your to-do list. Here are some tasks to plan on before the frost hits:
1. Seal Leaks Around Doors and Windows
The best way to help keep in the heat and keep out the cold this winter is to simply check your home for drafts. Many doors and windows have leaks around them that allow air to flow right through, especially when it gets windy. The trick is to get some weather insulation tape from your local home improvement store to seal them up.
For internal doors that lead to lesser used or uninsulated areas of your home (like the basement or attic door), get a draft stopper to lay on the floor to stop airflow through the bottom gap of the door. You may consider placing older single-pane windows as well.
2. Check Your Insulation
Many people don’t realize just how important proper insulation is for keeping their home comfortable year-round. Attic insulation, in particular, is one area that’s often overlooked, but your basement and all of the walls need to be adequately insulated as well.
If you have an older home or you’re ready to make a small investment to drastically improve comfort and efficiency this winter, have someone stop in to check your home’s insulation and make suggestions about how or where it could use improvement.
3. Inspect the Roof and Gutters
Image via Flickr by cogdogblog
Before the cold weather comes to stay, you need to inspect your roof and gutters for damage and blockages. This is very important because fallen leaves could be blocking your gutters, which will hinder drainage when the snow or rain comes.
Likewise, you need to make sure your roof is ready for the wet season. Visibly inspect your roof from the ground and if you notice any potential problems (or if your roof is older than 10 years), it’s best to have a professional come out and inspect it more thoroughly. Now is the time to address potential holes, cracks, or missing shingles before the cold weather worsens the damage.
4. Schedule Maintenance for Your HVAC Unit
Scheduling HVAC maintenance and servicing, with a professional company like Diamond Blue Air, is a must throughout the year, but it’s of particular importance when winter rolls around again. With your unit about to be under continuous usage to ward off the cold, you’ll want to call in an HVAC professional in your area to check things over and make sure it’s all good to go with clean filters and properly running systems. For the best results, this should be done as soon as possible.
These tips are simple enough to follow and will save you a significant amount of money over the winter, as well as make heating your home more efficient. Go ahead and add them to your to-do list and your home will feel that much cozier when the cold finally comes.
