Tips To Get Your Home All Set For Winter

There are so many things to love about winter, from the ice skating opportunities to the sight of snow gently falling from the skies.

At the same time, winter also brings with it a host of inconveniences. Sub-zero temperatures aren’t particularly comfortable, and it’s more than capable of damaging parts of your home.

Fortunately, there are many ways to get your home ready for anything the winter can dish out.

Get Your Heating System Professionally Serviced

As early as the autumn season, have HVAC technicians inspect your heat pump or furnace to make sure it will perform optimally when the chillier months arrive. That way, you can beat the rush for such tune-ups once the temperature starts dropping.

While everyone else is waiting in line for HVAC maintenance or repair service, you’ll be sitting pretty at home knowing your heater will perform well all winter long without any hitches. That’s all because you had your heating system serviced professionally before anyone else.

Seal Air Leaks

For a warmer and more comfortable winter at home, you have to take steps to prevent heat loss, and one of the simplest ways to do that is to seal all air leaks.

Many parts of your home may have gaps or air leaks, and they are common under doors and around windows.

To seal these gaps, you can use caulk, weatherstripping, or expandable polyurethane foam where appropriate.

Clean Your Gutters

If you can clean your gutters before winter sets in, the better it would be.

With a gutter clear of autumn leaves and debris, rainwater should be able to flow freely because if it can’t, and winter arrives, that water stuck in your gutters will freeze, and the weight can make them sag or even collapse.

Do a Roof Inspection

While cleaning your gutters, you might as well check your roof and see if some shingles are missing or damaged. You don’t have to get up on the roof to do it. Do it while perched on the ladder you’re using to clean the gutters or while on the ground, with a pair of binoculars in hand.

If you do find damaged or missing shingles, call your trusted roofing contractor right away to repair or replace those shingles.

As much as possible, refrain from doing the roofing work yourself for safety reasons.

Protect Your Plumbing

If there are any exposed pipes in your home, there is a risk that the water remaining inside them will freeze, expand, and cause the plumbing to burst.

To protect your plumbing, the best thing you can do is buy pipe insulation from the neighborhood hardware store. Cut the insulation to match pipes’ length and wrap it around them.

It would be best if you also drained the exposed pipes, valves, and sprinklers for good measure. Disconnect hoses too and drain any water that remains before storing them indoors.

Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors

If you’re using a furnace to heat your home, then there’s combustion involved, and where there’s something burning, there’s always the risk of carbon monoxide making it into your home and causing a lot of trouble.

And with your home sealed tight against the cold, you wouldn’t want to stay indoors when CO2 is lingering in the air and endangering everyone’s lives.

Every furnace-using home should have carbon monoxide detectors installed in strategic places to alert them promptly when there’s CO2 in the air. Test them periodically and check the batteries to ensure that they are working fine.

Put Up Heavy Curtains or Drapes

Curtains or drapes play a huge role in helping insulate your home.

As soon as temperatures start dropping, put up your heavier curtains or drapes. 

Keep them open during the day to let the sun in and help heat up your home. By the evening, close your heavy curtains to help keep the cold out and the heat inside your home.

Winterizing your home may take up some of your time, effort, and resources, but it can help all your loved ones feel more comfortable during winter, and your home is protected from damage. 

For all that, whatever you did or spent to get your home ready for winter would be a small price to pay.

About the Author

Sara Olsen is the Content Marketing Manager of Emergency Air, Arizona’s premier HVAC repair and service company with NATE-certified technicians and the best HVAC service in the quickest time.

When not writing articles, she makes the most of her time with her family and gives back to the community.