It’s that time of year again! The leaves are falling, and the air is getting colder. Some people don’t bother to care for their home during the wintertime, but it makes a difference if you do some preparation now. Learning how to winterize your home ensures that you’re not caught off guard when those first few snowflakes start to fall.
How to Winterize Your Home
1. Make Insulation a Priority
The first step to getting your home ready for the winter is ensuring you have insulation. If you don’t have any or want it replaced, get in touch with a professional who can assess the situation. They can give you all the details on how much this will cost and when they can do it. Additionally, check for drafts around windows and doors so that cold air doesn’t seep through them during those colder months.
You might also want to look at items such as baseboards which may need replacing if there’s damage from water leakage. Not sure where these spots are? No problem – experts recommend hiring an energy auditor to take care of things like this once a year because not only would they know where to look, they’d also know how much the temperature change would affect your bill.
2. Have your Furnace Inspected
An essential part of getting your home ready for the winter is ensuring your furnace won’t give out on you. Since this system works hard all year long and has a high chance of malfunctioning when it’s least expected (like during the winter), make sure to get an inspection.
You don’t want to be stuck in freezing temperatures with no heat because your furnace won’t start, then you will need new insulation and a whole new heating unit altogether. Both can cost quite a bit and might leave you wondering what happened to your cash. But, of course, it doesn’t hurt either way so take care of these things now instead of later.
3. Clean the Gutters
One of the most common issues during wintertime is ice forming in your gutters. When ice forms, two things can happen. Either they break completely, or their shape gets warped from all the weight. In any case, both situations aren’t great for your home so do yourself a favor by checking up on those gutters.
Winterize Your Home
Getting your home ready for the winter isn’t just a good idea; it’s also something that can save you quite a bit of money. Follow these three steps now to winterize your home.
