Winter home maintenance.
For those of us who live in Canada, we know that winter home maintenance is an extremely important part of being a home owner. After all, you want to protect your investment and take any of the necessary precautions we can ahead of time, so we can stay warm and save money.
Let’s start from the inside out.
When it comes to the interior of your home, there are still some winter home maintenance tips that apply. For example:
– tune up your heating system. Your furnace should be properly maintained with an annual service check and by changing the furnace filters at least every 3 months.
– If you have an attic hatch with a pull-down ladder consider getting an insulated cover. If not, you could be leaving a pretty big area for cold air to escape through.
– speaking of drafts, you’ll also want to repair leaks in any drafy areas. There could be doors/windows that require caulking or new weather stripping along with basements. Electrical outlets could also require insulation gaskets. These minor upgrades, done as part of your winter home maintenance, can save you plenty on your heating bills.
– got a wood-burning fireplace? Make sure you get it cleaned and inspected by a certified chimney sweet. Creosote and soot can build up over time, ignite and cause a fire.
– check heating ducts and clean out any dust/animal hair. It’s a good idea to get them cleaned annually.
– make sure cailing fans are reversed to push warm air in the home down vs. up.
– test your smoke and CO detectors. It’s a good idea to change the batteries with daylight savings time.
– if you have any exposed pipes running along your exterior walls or in unheated areas, wrap them with pipe insulation so they are at a lesser risk of bursting.
Moving along to the outside, which obviously gets hit the hardest from a winter home maintenance perspective.
– it may be out of sight, but it shouldn’t be out of mind. I’m talking about the roof! Use binoculars to check for any missing or damaged shingles BEFORE the first snowfall. If there are any missing or damaged, it can lead to water leaks – not fun in the winter time.
– clean out your gutters and downspouts and also consider adding extensions so that melting snow can run at least a few feet away from the house.
– when it comes to trees and shrubs, it’s a good idea to wrap them up so they don’t become misshapen under the weight of heavy snow.
– your exterior faucets should be turned off. Any water that remains can freeze and lead to pipes bursting as ice expands.
– frozen locks are a huge pain so prevent it from happening by spraying a small amount of powdered graphic lubricant into them once a season. You can potentially use vaseline in the key and turn the key into the lock if you’ve forgotten to do this.
– it’s always a good idea to stock up on salt and/or snowmelt, keep your shovel in an easy to reach spot and keep your snowblower fuelled up/ready to go.
Your home is the biggest investment you’ll ever make so winter home maintenance should be a big priority. The trick is regular and consistent maintenance. You want to prevent problems before they can happen.
You may also be interested in this article, Winter Home Safety Tips, or this one, Tools Every Home Owner Needs.
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