Winter will be here before you know it, and soon your house could be uncomfortably cold unless you get it ready for the chilly season.
Here are some tips to ensure your home is ready to handle the cold.
1. Seal Your Masonry and Hard Surfaces
Sealing any cracks or holes in your home’s masonry (brick, stone, block, and concrete) is vital to preventing the cold from entering your house. Caulking is a good option for filling smaller holes, but if you have larger openings, you’ll need concrete sealant. You may also want to caulk between window frames and where your siding meets your home’s foundation.
2. Insulate Windows and Doors
Windows are one of the biggest enemies in winter. It’s important to insulate all windows in your home, especially those that receive direct sunlight. When doing this, you should also caulk around and weatherstrip any doors leading from the outside into your home.
Insulation is key to keeping the interior of your home warm during the winter months. If you’re looking to install more insulation, ensure you know of any current gaps in your home.
3. Paint, Caulk, and Seal Exterior Wood
Once you’ve sealed your masonry, it’s time to secure the outside of your home. Exterior wood is one place where heat can get out. Painting the wood on your exterior walls and windows will help prevent the cold air from leaking through cracks or holes. If you have wooden decks or porches, you should caulk and seal those as well.
5. Clean Your Drainage
If you have any exterior drainpipes blocked with ice, you should take the time to chip away the ice buildup. This will prevent the ice from breaking and potentially damaging the pipes.
7. Clean Your Gutters
Ensure there aren’t any leaves or debris in your gutters before it snows since these can easily get covered up and block the drains. You may opt to enlist the help of a professional gutter company in South Carolina to clean your gutters and prepare them for the cold season.
8. Clean Your Chimney and Order Firewood
Once the weather turns cold, it might be time to start your wood-burning fireplace. Before you do this, it’s necessary to clean your chimney. A clean chimney won’t release excess soot into your home and surrounding. Also, consider ordering plenty of firewood for your fireplace since you’ll likely be burning a lot more during cold winter nights.
9. Check Your Water Heater
With the cold weather setting in, turning the temperature on your water heater may be tempting. However, too much may result in freezing pipes and burst water heaters. Make sure you know how low you can set the temperature setting on your water heater before it causes any damage.
11. Tune Your HVAC System
An HVAC is essential for getting your home ready for the cold seasons. It also is important to know how your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system works before it’s too cold outside. You should check the filter on your furnace, the blower motor on your AC unit, and the drain tube that connects to your dryer.
12. Turn Off Exterior Faucets
As winter kicks in, remember to turn off any exterior faucets. Water left running in pipes can freeze and lead to burst and frozen pipes. If this happens, you will have to replace the pipes, which can be expensive.
13. Don’t Prune Trees or Shrubs Until Late Winter
This is an important step if you want to protect your landscaping. If you prune trees or shrubs during the fall and winter, you’ll be removing foliage that could act as insulation. This can lead to frostbite on twigs, branches, and leaves and potentially kill the plant.
14. Be Sure Your Basement Doesn’t Flood
You can prevent flooding in your basement by checking for any leaks in any pipes. A flooded basement will reduce the insulative capacity of your home. As a result, the house could be way colder than you anticipate. Also, the flooded water may freeze and lower the temperatures of your house.
Conclusion
Winter isn’t easy for anyone, especially those who can’t afford to properly equip their homes with insulation and heating. In this case, if you have any friends or family that could use some help staying safe and warm during the winter, now is the time to reach out to them.
To read more on topics like this, check out the Home & Garden category
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