The summer months are an excellent time to make any necessary adjustments and renovations to ensure your home is comfortable, warm, and can withstand the harsh colder climate. It’s also easier to make any adjustments when the weather is friendlier. Here are some tips to get your home ready for winter.
Inspect the Chimney
If you have a fireplace in your home, inspect it before winter to ensure no cracks or malfunctions that could affect its function during the colder months. If there are any problems, contact a professional. It’s usually best to do it before the colder months when you’ll use your fireplace more often.
If there are any cracks in your chimney, make time for repairs to ensure heat doesn’t escape through the openings.
Inspect the Windows
A lot of heat escapes through spaces between windows and doors. Inspect your doors and windows, and install weather-stripping to help reduce the loss of heat. Alternatively, have a local custom window replacement provider upgrade your windows to more energy-efficient versions.
Replace Furnace Filter Regularly
Change the furnace filters regularly to keep the appliance working efficiently. You don’t want debris and dust to circulate while heating the air in the cold winter months. Replacing filters also keeps energy consumption low, lowering your utility bills. Breathing contaminated air can also affect your health, especially for those with asthma or allergies.
Additionally, if your home heats up with oil, have enough to keep you warm and comfortable through the winter months. If not, be prepared to buy some so you can avoid disruptions.
Replace Incandescent Lights with CFLs or LEDs
LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) use less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs. Therefore, they can help to reduce the amount of energy you use during the colder winter months. Not only that but LEDs and CFLs have a longer lifespan than traditional incandescent bulbs.
As you change the lights, carry out an energy audit to ensure your energy consumption is manageable. Note that you’ll use more energy in winter but making adjustments keeps your bills low.
Prep Your Lawn Care Equipment
Before storing away the equipment, drain the gas, oil, and any other flammable liquids so that the equipment doesn’t pose a threat if it’s accidentally activated. Essential to note, gas degrades when stored for long, damaging your equipment.
Also, take care of your lawn. Cut down dead or weak trees and fill out any spaces on the fence to keep away pests. Also, put away toys, cover outdoor furniture and structures.
Inspect the Roof
Check the roof for any out-of-place shingles, damages, and leaks. Also, inspect the gutters and downspouts to ensure that water doesn’t accumulate during harsh weather. Make sure to attend to any repairs before winter, including unblocking the drains.
Winterize the Plumbing
Inspect all your fixtures to see if they’re still in working order, as well as check for any leakages on the hot water tank and main shut-off valve. Remember to drain outside faucets and shut down the pool.
Pipes can burst from the cold weather, so take extra care to drain outside faucets and shut down the pool before any freeze occurs. Also, make sure to shut off other outdoor water features to avoid leaks in winter.
