The winter season is a time to look forward to because of all the fun activities that come with it, from ice fishing, ice skating, snow tubing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing to winter camping, you name it.
While this is true, the winter season can also be the worst nightmare in your life, especially if you don’t prepare your home for it. You are probably wondering how that can be. I’ll tell you.
Winter presents very harsh weather conditions that can cause severe interior damage, the kind that no one likes to deal with. For instance- and this is a common scenario- when the water in your pipe’s freezes, it expands, causing the pipe to burst. You know what happens when pipes burst. Your room will flood in just a matter of minutes damaging just about anything stored in it. The loss of property and the unexpected cost of hiring a Brisbane based plumbing service provider are exactly the kinds of things you avoid by preparing your home for winter.
Of course, it’s not just disasters you want to prevent during winter. Keeping your home warm for you and your family, cutting down on your electricity bills, and protecting your furniture and outdoor appliances should be top priorities as winter approaches.
And that brings us to the question; how best can you prepare your home for winter? Read this article to the end to find out.
- Protect Your Piping System
Pipes installed in unheated interior spaces like the attic, basement, and garage are at the highest risk of freezing and bursting. As stated earlier, this is one of those interior disasters you want to avoid at all costs. To avoid a situation like this, you should hire trenchless pipe repair services in Seattle right away.
Inspect all the vulnerable parts of your house. Are there any exposed pipes? Insulate them all to protect them from such damage.
- Check Your Heating System
The heating system is probably the most important element for your home during winter. You must ensure that it’s in good condition and working well, as it should. Below are ways you can use to prepare it.
- Perform a Test Run
Is your heating system working properly? Test, run it to confirm. Turn your thermostat on to 80◦F. The furnace should turn on, and warm air should start blowing within a few minutes. If nothing is wrong, turn the thermostat back to its original setting. If the furnace is not working properly, try and diagnose it yourself. Depending on the problem, you can fix it or call a professional to do it for you.
- Change the Air Filter
You might want to change your air filter before winter to ensure a free flow of clean air in your environment. Every furnace is different, and so the requirements may vary. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s guide.
- Check the Heating Vents
Inspect the heating vents. Are there any obstacles preventing the free flow of air? Make sure you remove them. Also, heating vents should be serviced and cleaned by a professional at least once in one or two years. When did that last happen for your heating vents? If it’s more than 2 Years ago, it’s high time you do something about it.
- Check Your Fuel Supply
Whether you have a propane or fuel oil furnace, check fuel tank storage to ensure that it is full and ready to go for winter.
- Confirm there are No Carbon monoxide Leaks
We all know what could happen when carbon monoxide leaks, so make sure that doesn’t happen. You can use a battery-operated alarm or an inexpensive test badge to test for this silent killer. In case of any problems, call a professional to identify the cause of the leak and fix it.
- Inspect the Exhaust Vents
Some furnaces, gas water heaters, and boilers use a chimney to ventilate, while newer models, which are more efficient, use pipes to do the same. Ensure these ventilation pipes are open and free of any obstructions that can prevent them from working properly, as they should.
- Inspect Your Roof
Inspecting your roof is another crucial task to perform before winter. You do not want to find yourself with a leaky roof as soon as the snow hits. Doing a roof inspection will help you identify any issues to prevent that from happening. You can perform a roof inspection yourself or hire a contractor to do it for you. In the event of an emergency, you must immediately employ emergency roof tarp services to avoid any mishaps. Check for any loose, broken, or missing shingles. If there are any, your contractor from ac repair denver will fix the problem, I.e., repair or replace the shingles. Also, check for rust, moss, algae, or anything that could indicate that your roof is deteriorating.
- Clean Your Gutters
Check your gutters. Remove all leaves, debris, or any form of dirt to ensure they are clean. The purpose is to prevent any build-up of ice that can cause the gutters to become heavy and fall off.
- Gather Enough Firewood
Not everyone is lucky to have a fireplace but if you do, make sure you gather enough firewood and store it well to keep it dry for winter. You do not want to find yourself running in every direction in panic, wondering how to keep your house warm.
Conclusion
Many people do not realize how important it is to prepare their homes for winter until it’s too late. By this time, the damage is usually done. Now they have to pay for it and bear the losses. Do not wait for that to happen.
Please note: these are not the only things you can do to prepare your home for winter; there are more. Examples include
- Servicing your air conditioning system
- Trimming tree branches, especially those directly above your roof
- Insulating your windows to prevent winter drafts etc
In short, inspect the whole of your home to see what you can do to protect it and yourselves from harsh weather conditions.
