Prepare your home for Winter

11/28/2017 (Permalink)

Prepare your home for Winter

Although winter comes as no surprise, many of us are not ready for its arrival. If you are prepared for the hazards of winter, you will be more likely to stay safe and healthy when temperatures start to fall.

Some tips to brace your home for a winter storm:

• Clean out the gutters, disconnect and drain all outside hoses. If possible, shut off outside water valves.
• Insulate walls and attics, and caulk and weather-strip doors and windows.
• Repair roof leaks and remove tree branches that could get weighed down with ice or snow and fall on your house – or your neighbor's. (Avoid liability for the latter.)
• Wrap water pipes in your basement or crawl spaces with insulation sleeves to slow heat transfer.
• Consider an insulated blanket for your hot water heater.
• If you have a fireplace, keep the flue closed when you're not using it.
• Have a contractor check your roof to see if it would sustain the weight of a heavy snowfall.
• Make sure your furniture isn't blocking your home’s heating vents.
• During cold spells, keep cabinet doors open to allow warm air to circulate around pipes, particularly those in the kitchen and bathrooms.
• Keep a slow trickle of water flowing through faucets connected to pipes that run through unheated or unprotected spaces.
• If your house will be unattended during cold periods, consider draining the water system.
• Avoid ice dams– where water from melted snow refreezes in the gutters and seeps in under the roof, soaking interior walls. Here’s how:
  • Ventilate your attic.
  • Insulate the attic floor well to minimize the amount of heat rising through the attic from within the house.
  • Consider having a water-repellent membrane installed under your roof covering.