
Winter Home Prep
Learn what steps you can take to prepare for winter ahead of time, and prevent trouble later in the season.
For most of us, wintertime is a perfect opportunity to break out comfy wool blankets, make some hot chocolate, and enjoy the warmth of a fireplace. But while you snuggle and get warm, your house stays exposed to the elements. With extreme temperatures, even small items can add up to large and costly problems if left unattended.
Here are a few things you can do to ensure your home is properly winterized:
Now’s the time of year when leaves, acorns, pine needles, and other debris can easily fall into and clog up the gutters. Make sure that water can easily flow through the gutters so icicles and ice dams don’t form.
It’s amazing how fast some trees will grow every year, extending their branches over your house or driveway (and perhaps creeping onto your neighbor’s property). You’ll want to keep them properly pruned, because ice and snow can accumulate on the branches, weigh them down significantly, and cause them to snap off. Cars, sheds, roofs, and other outdoor items can be severely damaged by even the smallest icy branches.
Be thorough: Chances are your home has more faucets and pipes (and potential trouble spots) than you think. Disconnect and store all your garden hoses so they won’t freeze up. If your home has a separate shut-off valve for external faucets, shut off the water, drain the faucets, and place covers over them for the winter.
Disconnect and drain any sprinkler systems. If you have an extensive underground sprinkler system, you may want to call a professional company to blow out any leftover water that may be in the underground lines. For the rest of your home, be sure you know where the main waterline shut-off is located so you’ll be able to stop major problems before they occur.
The colder it gets, the busier most HVAC professionals will be. So don’t put off having your system inspected and tuned-up to ensure it’s running correctly and efficiently. A proper servicing will include:
Make sure your air conditioning system is properly shut down for winter:
Even if your home is properly winterized, you could still lose power during a bad storm and roads could be treacherous. Make sure you have enough food, water, medicine, batteries, and other supplies to last a few days. Many camping and outdoor stores offer pre-made 72-hour kits.
Follow these thoughtful tips and you should be able to ride out the worst of “Old Man Winter” without any serious trouble. For other winterizing tips, click here.
SOURCE: BobVila.com
Learn what steps you can take to prepare for winter ahead of time, and prevent trouble later in the season.
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