How to Prepare Your Home in the Winter
While
winter is almost here, it is still best to make sure that you have done these
steps in order to make sure that your home is cold-proof, insulate your home
during the winter season and get your home damage-free when spring time comes. Here are simple yet easy home improvements that you can do on how to prepare your home in the winter.
Clean out chimney
Conventional
chimneys never fail in providing warmth into your home. So just before the winter
comes, make sure that you have a professional chimney sweeper cleans it out as
there will be buildup and other blockages that can lead to fires.
Warm your water heater
This
is perhaps not just winter-proofing your home tip but can also help you save energy
and pay less on utility bill. Wrap your water heater using an insulation
blanket large enough to cover it to ensure that the heat does not escape into
its cold environment. This can help save up to 9 percent in water heating
costs.
Seal cracks and crevices
Cracks
and crevices allows heat to escape your home, you can do an easy DIY by using
expandable foams to seal the gaps regardless of its shape, etc.
Install a smart thermostat
If
you have the budget, installing a smart thermostat can be a good decision
because it can detect if someone is home and it will automatically adjust its
temperature. If you are home, it increases the warmth and comfort and lowers
the temperature when you leave.
Install weather stripping
Seal
gaps along doors and windows by installing weather stripping as well as
installing door sweeps to prevent chills from coming through small spaces
underneath the door.
Frozen pipes
Frozen
pipes can lead to damaged pipes so in order to resolve this issue is to install
foam-rubber insulation to prevent pipes from reaching subzero temperatures.
Use ceiling fans
This
is something that most people are not aware of, but using ceiling fans the right
way can also help with adding warmth into your home. During summer, fans should
be set to rotate counter clockwise to invite cool breeze inside. On the other
hand, during winter you can reverse the rotation of the blades to spin
clockwise so that it will ventilate warm air back down.
Trim back trees
While
tall standing trees are postcard-worthy and would provide that winter season
effect into your environment, large branches can collect snow and ice during
winter. This could cause disaster if the branch has been overloaded with too
much weight. You can prevent this by trimming branches back just before the
winter starts to avoid this danger.
Replace furnace filters
Make
sure that your furnace is in top shape to ensure that you are warm during cold
months. You can do so by changing your furnace filters often. This is because
dirt restricts airflow and increases the demand for energy. This will also
allow you to save and cut costs on energy. Change fiberglass or paper furnace
filters once a month or every two months, while electrostatic or HEPA filters
can be changed every two to four months. Proper functioning of your heating system
and furnace is essential so that you will stay warm and comfortable in your
home.
Now
there we have it, here are just some of great tips that you can do to improve
and ensure that your home is comfortable during the season. If you are still
looking for a home or property to buy, it is never too late to check if the
heating system is working properly just in time for you to get ready for the
next year.
Source:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/tasks-to-prep-for-winter-187099/
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