6 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Winter Weather
Winter weather gets most of us down with all the beautiful summer days spent next to the pool long gone. Most likely, your home might not be up-to-par with its insulation to warm you against the upcoming cold, so now's the time to prepare your home for winter weather!
If your house seems a bit colder this winter, it might simply be because of a lack of maintenance. Here are 7 easy ways for you to batten down the hatches and prepare your home for the cold this winter:
Tip #1 - Check the drafts
Outlets, panel covers and other types of wall fixtures can sometimes cause an unnecessary draft.
Cold air often comes in from outside, circulates in your walls and then escapes through these fixtures, which can seriously ruin the effectiveness of your insulation!
Simply take a caulking gun and seal the areas around these outlets to keep the heat inside.
Tip #2 - Replace the weatherstripping
Weatherstripping isn't going to last forever and the cold inside your house might mean that it is time to replace it.
Most weatherstripping should actually be replaced every few years in order to ensure effective insulation against the elements. Take your old weather stripping out and replace it with new ones.
Consider purchasing energy-efficient weatherstripping as these will provide more aid in securing the insulation in your home. Perhaps you ought to consider checking for gaps beneath the doors that might have a negative impact on your insulation.
Tip #3 - Caulk any holes in the walls
Did you know that holes in the walls are the number one reason why your insulation isn't working in your home?
No matter how small the hole is, you should be aware of it and caulk it immediately.
Caulk eventually wears down, so even though you have done this before, you might have to do it again!
Caulking is frequently going to appear around pipes on the outside of the house, windows, etc. and these might all become degraded. Use exterior caulk in all of those areas.
Of course, you can also use paintable caulk so that it blends in with the color of your house.
Tip #4 - Get your furnace checked
Ensure that you get your furnace checked every year to make sure that it is still in safe working order.
Furnaces usually last for 15-25 years, so if your furnace is a bit older, this is a crucial step you don't want to skip. A professional will be able to tell you the exact state of the furnace and what you can do in terms of maintenance to ensure that it lasts a bit longer.
Tip #5 - Seal up the ducts
Remember how well the heater used to work?
If your heater is losing power, it might be because there are issues with your ducts. Ducts can degrade and leaks can emerge over time. Add onto that the fact that pests might start invading them.
Get a proper duct cleaning to make sure that the heater is on full blast in winter.
Tip #6 - Close up your chimney
One of the worst things is to clean the chimney, but unfortunately, this is something that needs to be done.
When the chimney is not in use, remember to close it up as they can lose a lot of warm air. They are, after all, designed to vent air to the surface which makes it easier for hot air to escape because it rises!
Make sure that you have a monitoring system in place to ensure that you can detect potentially dangerous air issues.
Winter doesn't have to catch you by surprise if you prepare your home in time. These few tricks will ensure many warm evenings in front of the TV with a nice cup of hot chocolate in your hand.