Winterizing your home is an important step in keeping your property clean, safe, and undamaged as winter draws near. Below are five easy projects that can help you prepare your home for the harshness of winter.
- Power Washing:
Cleaning the exterior of your home goes a long way in helping to protect it and the occupants. Throughout the year, dirt, grime, molds and algae accumulate on the outside of your house. These contaminants can cause costly damage to the exterior of your home. This can include cracking, peeling and staining your paint or vinyl siding. Power washing your home not only helps to increase property value and curb appeal, but it also helps to reduce costly damages. Winters can be extremely harsh. Many places along the east coast experience ice, whipping wings, and snowfall that will coat homes. Help reduce their impacts on your home by deep cleaning surfaces that will be affected. Power washing will reduce the time it takes to do all of this and provide a much deeper clean than hand scrubbing will.
Decks, walkways and windows can also be power washed for a thorough cleaning prior to winter.
- Inspecting:
Drafts and insulation problems can cause your winter energy bills to skyrocket. Inspecting your home for drafts is a quick way to prevent this before winter energy costs kick in. Pay particular attention to doors and windows. These areas are the most likely to have air leaks. Using a lighter or candle, walk around the interior of your home on a windy day. Place the flame near window frames and doors. If it reacts, you likely have a draft. Drafts can be easily fixed. Window drafts can be corrected with a bit of caulk. Weather stripping is useful as well. Doors may need a quick draft guard installed at the bottom to prevent wind from blowing through.
While inspecting your home, take a look at your insulation. Make sure critters haven’t created nests or holes in your insulation. Pay particular attention to attics, basements, garages or unused rooms. Insulation film can be applied to windows to further reduce heat loss.
- Gutters:
Make sure to clean your gutters. Clogged gutters can create expensive damages or hazardous conditions. Water that may become trapped beneath leaves or inside of drainage pipes can freeze and burst, causing expensive water damages to your roof. Additionally, melting snow may freeze at night. Clogged gutters will prevent this water from safely traveling from the roof to ground. Instead this water will drip off and form icicles, which can fall and hurt people.
- Draining:
Bursting pipes can be easily avoided. But they are costly to fix once damaged. Make sure your outdoor pipes and hoses are clean and empty of all water. Turn off the faucets that lead to outside. Once off, spray your hose until every last drop of water has been emptied from it. Remove your hose and store for the winter to prevent additional damages from accumulating snow and extreme cold.
- Programmable Thermostat:
A programmable thermostat will help save you money and keep your home’s temperature regulated. Units can be purchased from local hardware stores and are easier to install than you’d think. Experts recommend a winter daytime temperature (and nighttime sleeping temperature) to be set between 62°F and 66°F. While home, the temperature should be set between 68°F and 72°F to conserve energy and keep costs as low as possible.
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