When you are a new homeowner, it is your responsibility to prepare your home for the winter so that you will be warmer when the temperature drops. The best time to begin prepping your home for winter is in the autumn before it begins to snow.
Check Your Home’s Furnace
This one should almost go without saying since a furnace is so critical to your warmth throughout the winter. Make sure to check your home’s furnace for any signs of disrepair well before winter sets in so that you won’t spend any time in the cold waiting for an emergency repair. An easy way to make sure this gets done is simply to call a professional maintenance service, but if you’re feeling confident you can make a visual inspection on your own too.
Start by pulling off the cover and replacing the filter, and then use a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust from all the components. Turn on the furnace before checking your home’s vents to determine if it is working correctly. You may need to dust the vents and the ductwork to remove debris that prevents proper airflow. If you run into any problems with blocked ducts you might want to consider calling a professional instead of trying to fix it yourself, to avoid damaging anything in your home.
Clean Your Home’s Fireplace
You must have your home’s fireplace inspected professionally at least once a year to verify that there are no blockages that will prevent air circulation. If a chimney sweep recommends a repair of your home’s fireplace or the chimney stack, then make sure to complete the repair before winter. Buy a load of firewood to keep near your home to use throughout the winter.
Seal the Cracks and Holes in Your Home
Buy liquid caulking at a home improvement store so that you can fill the holes and cracks in your home. Look for cracks and holes outside and inside of your home. Many of these crevices and holes are located near your home’s foundation, around windows or near utility lines. Filling these holes and crevices will prevent cold drafts in your home to keep you warmer.
Also Read: Basic Guide to Roof Repair During Winter
Add Insulation in the Attic and Basement
To keep your home’s floors and ceilings warmer, add insulation to the basement and attic. You can find rolls of insulation at a home improvement store, and it is easy to install this substance. If the walls of your home don’t have enough insulation, then contact a company that will use equipment to blow loose insulation into the walls.
You would probably be surprised at how many homes could benefit from more insulation in these areas. Basements are often left unfinished for long periods of time, and attics are generally not considered living space. Both of these factors typically lead to less care being shown to these areas when adding insulation initially.
Put Plastic Film on the Windows
You can also buy adhesive plastic film to place on the windows of your home. This insulating film helps to keep the warm climate-controlled air inside your home while keeping cold air from entering. In the spring, you can remove this plastic film easily so that you can open the windows again. Another way to do this is to spray the windows with water and then apply bubble wrap to them. The water will cause the bubble wrap to adhere gently to the window while still allowing for easy removal. If your home has a lot of windows this could be a great way to limit your heat transfer with the outside world.
Tune-up Your Home’s Water Heater
Don’t forget to tune-up your home’s water heater before winter because you will want to have more hot water in the wintertime. To tune-up a water heater, you may need to empty its holding tank to remove sediments. In addition, buy a specialized insulating blanket that will cover the water heater to keep the water warmer longer. If that sounds like something out of your depth, consider calling a professional like First Class Plumbing of Florida Inc. or another plumber to take care of the tune-up for you.
Contact Professional Technicians in the Autumn
If you find a problem with a water heater, furnace or fireplace, then contact a professional technician as soon as possible. When you wait until it is snowing and cold, many technicians are overwhelmed with emergency repairs, and you may need to wait for an appointment.