Tips and Tricks for Winterizing Your Home
By ICG
Winterizing your home may look time-consuming, but with little effort, you can save yourself from big troubles later on.
Winters are all about fun, festivities, and entertainment. It brings holidays, such as Christmas, where families get together. But winters can become a hassle if you don’t prepare your house. Freezing temperatures can cause pipe leaks and clogged gutters. This is why you should winterize your home and enjoy the most awaited time of the year.
It’s best to take some measures and precautions in the fall, as your winter season may be packed with pending work because of Christmas and other festivities. However, if you haven’t done anything yet, you can still winterize your home to prevent unexpected problems.
Here are some tips and tricks that will help you enjoy the winter season to its fullest.
Check Your Heating System
The first step in winterizing your home is to check your heating system. You will use this system regularly. Hence, it makes sense to ensure that it does not fail in the middle of the winter season.
Begin with the air filters, and check whether they have accumulated dust or dirt. If yes, take them out and wash them; make sure to let them dry. Install them when they are dry. Note that a clean filter offers good air quality and reduces utility bills by up to 15%. For a detailed inspection, you can hire experts to check and clean your HVAC system.
Reduce Energy Bills
When it comes to winterizing your home, reducing energy bills is essential. In this case, preventing freezing air from entering your home is a crucial step. This will allow you to use your HVAC on lower levels, reducing energy consumption. You can also switch to a smart thermostat that can provide heat based on the indoor temperature and offer many unique features to reduce bills.
You should add weather-strip to your doors and caulk any window gaps. Install high-quality insulation like foam boards or cellulose fiberglass insulation. This will lower the impact of outside temperature on your house.
Install Attic Insulation
This is one of the most underrated tips. Attic insulation can help prevent the loss of heat in your house. Unfortunately, most homeowners don’t have adequate insulation in the attics or have too little. According to experts, your attic should have at least R-38 insulation.
This means your insulation needs to be 10 to 14 inches deep. A well-insulated attic floor will prevent warm air from other rooms from getting into the attic.
You also need to caulk the ducts, holes, wires, and pipes for the same reason. Installing an insulated cover over the attic stairway or hatch can also help prevent heat loss.
Prepare Your Roof
A broken or damaged roof not only allows heated air to escape the house but can also lead to water leaks. Ice, rain, wind, and snow can make it challenging for your roof to withstand winters. Therefore, inspect your roof for broken, missing, curled, or frayed shingles, and repair them.
Also, look for clogged gutters and open them. To avoid this problem in the future, install gutter guards.
You also need to clean debris, dirt, leaves, branches, nest, etc., on the roof to prevent them from accumulating above the gutters. Inspect your ceilings and attic for water leakage and fix them immediately by closing the cracks and eliminating the cause. Homeowners who live in areas prone to heavy snowfalls can invest in a roof rake that keeps snow from accumulating on the roof.
Prevent Water Damage
Water damages are a nightmare for homeowners. They occur typically in winters due to burst pipes. But you can avoid this problem by taking some necessary measures. If your pipes are not secure, they will likely burst because of extreme temperatures. You need to secure each pipe with a pipe hanger.
Besides that, you also need to keep water from freezing. For this, use heat tape to insulate water lines in crawlspaces. You can also keep under-sink cabinets open to promote warm air circulation around the pipes.
Bottom Line
By winterizing your home, you can save expensive repairs and replacements. It also saves your time and energy. So, have a great winter this season with your family and friends by taking some precautionary measures.