Top priorities for winterizing your home.
October is a great time to prepare your home for winter. Many people wait too long and they eventually end up rushing and missing important things.
- Remaining safe and comfortable: Make sure you call a HVAC technician to inspect your furnace for efficiency and safety. Replace the batteries on your CO2 detectors and change the filters on your furnace. Consider professional installation of an auxiliary heat source in formerly drafty rooms rather than using space heaters.
- Woodburning stove and fireplace: Have a professional chimney sweep clean your chimney to prevent dangerous fires.
- Protecting your investment from the elements: Clean inside window frames and around windows so that the seals have a chance to work. Close windows tightly and replace missing lock mechanisms. Caulk around windows if gaps are present.Clean out and secure loose gutters.Ice can play havoc with gutters not functioning properly. Drain and store all hoses. Using a leaf blower, remove excess leaves from the perimeter of your home and your beds so that water can drain away properly.
- Safety for others: Install handrails on your front steps, and purchase a new welcome mat that will help remove snow and sand from shoes. Make sure exterior lighting is working. Purchase ice melt for your front sidewalk and make sure you snow shovel is ready to go.Keep both nearby.