When you are a homeowner, winter brings some special challenges. It is important that you do all the things that are necessary to get your home ready for winter. Here are some quick tips for things that are important to protect your investment.
Get the furnace cleaned
No matter what type of furnace you are using to heat your home it is importance that you do regular maintenance on it. This involves calling your oil or gas company and getting a service man out there to do a cleaning. It is important to know how efficient your furnace is and this is part of the service. Filters need to be changed and adjustments made. The amount that you pay for this service call will be paid back to you in fuel savings over the course of the winter.
Put in storm windows
If you have storm windows, this is the time to put them in or lower them down. You want your house to be as snug as possible and not putting in storm windows may result in drafts and loss of heat. With the price of all types of fuel, no one can afford to be wasteful. While you are taking care of your windows, check the caulking to make sure that everything is in place and you won’t be letting the cold in and your heat escape out. If your windows are old or leaky, you may want to add a plastic film over them. This can be done with a hairdryer. This makes the film fit very tight, like a second skin and it can make a big difference in the temperature and drafts in a room.
Storm doors
It is time to take the screens out of your storm doors and to place the glass windows in. Some storm doors have the windows built in; you just lower the screen inside the door. Other doors have screens that are totally removed and stored.
Turn off the exterior faucets
Before the freezing weather arrives, bleed the pipes leading to the faucet and turn them off inside so that you won’t end up with frozen or even worse burst pipes. While you are at it, bring any of your hoses inside and store them for the winter.
Supplies
Before you need it, be sure that your snow shovel is in good condition and you know where it is. If you use a snow blower get it ready for its first use. Pick up a bag of sand and one of salt, it is better to be prepared than to be running around right before the first snow.
Get the chimney cleaned
If you are going to be using your fireplace, get the chimney cleaned and serviced. Dirty chimneys s can cause home fires so this is a very important tip.
Change the battery in your carbon monoxide monitor
This is the time of year when you need to change the battery in your carbon monoxide monitor. Every year people die from carbon monoxide poisoning, you don’t want to be one of them. This is such a simple thing to do and it can save your life.
These are just a few quick things that you can do to winterize your house. You can do it all of these on one day of your weekend and then relax and enjoy the fall.
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