One of the easiest ways to ensure your home’s safety is by creating a home maintenance checklist during the winter months ahead. Following a home maintenance checklist for winter will ensure that your home is ready and prepared for winter, whether you face snowstorms or below-freezing temperatures. It is essential to ensure everything in your house works properly and is maintained before winter is here.
Check and Replace Detectors and Alarms
It is essential to ensure everything in your house works properly. Check that all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors work and are not expired. One way to quickly look for expired detectors and alarms is to place a piece of tape over the detector, then remove it. If there is a black streak on the tape from smoke or dust, you know that your detector needs replacing.
Wrap Pipes
It is necessary to wrap pipes when preparing your home maintenance checklist. This will help prevent pipes from freezing and bursting when the weather gets cold. You’ll want to include pipe wrapping to protect any exposed water pipes in and outside of your home, helping you avoid costly plumbing repairs. Try wrapping the pipe in an electric blanket if you do not have heat tape available. You can keep a space heater near the exposed pipes if possible. Be sure to drain outdoor hoses and store them in an area that will not freeze.
Seal Off Windows
When you’re preparing your home for the upcoming winter, it is vital to seal off all of your windows. Many people assume that you only need to put plastic over your windows if the forthcoming season is extremely cold, but this is not true. Home heat escapes very quickly through unsealed windows, and even a tiny crack or hole can cause massive energy loss in no time. So unless you want to shell out a fortune on heating bills every month, take a little extra time preparing for winter by sealing off all those pesky holes that let outside airflow inside.
Caulking and Weather Stripping
Caulking and weather stripping are two methods that provide the best way to keep air from escaping your home. Caulking is used around entrances of doorways or windows to seal out drafts that could be entering your home throughout the winter months. Weatherstripping may be used as an alternative to siliconized latex caulking on door and window edges. This can be very helpful, but make sure not to buy weather stripping that is too wide; otherwise, it won’t fit between your door or window frame.
Cover or Remove A/C Unit
For the home’s interior to stay warm until warmer temperatures arrive, only one-third of an A/C unit should stick out from any given wall so not too much cold air flows into the home. If possible, it is best to remove the home’s A/C unit altogether until warmer weather arrives. Even if you have to pay for repairs after removing your home’s A/C unit, it is still more cost-efficient than having an entire house full of repairs due to winter-caused damage. Covered or removed home air conditioners keep out cold air which prevents ice buildup and foundation issues leading to costly damages inside the home.
Check your Emergency Supplies
It is best practice to have home emergency supplies stocked because winter emergencies are frigid ones. Make sure there’s enough canned food at home with a long shelf life and a home cooking kit with a gas stove to help in an emergency. Throw in some extra blankets and winter necessities, plus have a supply of salt and other ice-melting materials on hand during the winter months.
Stockpiling
Having a stockpile of wood and canned goods is often overlooked. Still, it is crucial to ensure safety during emergencies, such as power outages due to storms or other weather-related conditions. Ensure that your generator and other important heat sources are working and that you have stockpiled enough resources to stay warm in the winter months.
Clean Gutters
People often overlook the importance of cleaning gutters. Homeowners should inspect their gutters during the fall season. That way, they can identify any damage or signs of wear before winter begins. Gutter maintenance aims to keep the gutters clean, functioning correctly, and free of damage. Homeowners should inspect their gutters for issues such as clogs, loose parts, erosion, or rust. Gutters blocked with twigs, leaves, or branches can overflow during rainstorms causing water damage to your home’s exterior.
Reverse Ceiling Fans
Reversing ceiling fans will help improve airflow throughout winter when windows are closed, and push heated air that collects near the ceiling back into the room. If you have ceiling fans that pull up instead of push down, reverse the direction, and blow down away from the ceiling.
Change Furnace Filters
One of the most critical home maintenance tasks is changing furnace filters before winter begins. Dirty filters will result in a more costly demand on your home furnace and increase your home energy bills while decreasing indoor air quality. Change furnace filters once every three months or more, depending on your needs.
Protect entryway flooring
Homeowners often overlook the simple act of protecting home entryway flooring until it is too late. Add a layer of entrance matting at the front door to collect water, snow, and dirt coming in from outside. Sweep or vacuum home entryways regularly so the salt does not have time to settle on your floors. Salt left for prolonged periods of time will begin causing rust stains on home entryway flooring or metal surfaces if allowed to sit.
Let Digs do the work for you with our smart checklist
The last thing a homeowner wants to do is complete a lengthy list of tasks for home maintenance. Digs by OJO has solved this common problem with our checklist. We have created tools that save time and money to enjoy your free time better while preparing your home for winter.
