Winter is coming whether we want it to or not. So before it gets too snowy out, set a weekend aside for winterizing your home. You’ll be preventing possible problems, keeping indoor air quality good, and also lowering your energy bills.
Clean Your Gutters
If you have a lot of trees around your house, fall is definitely the right time to get your gutters taken care of. If not, the task can wait until spring, but gutters should be cleaned once a year. This is especially important if you live in an area that receives lot of snow and freezing rain, which can quickly cause damaging ice dams to form in your gutters and downspouts.
Take Care of Your Furnace
Once you turn your heat on, experts recommend changing your filter every one-to-three months. Dirty filters restrict airflow and make your furnace less efficient, which translates into bigger heating bills.
Remove Window Screens
This is an easy step to skip, especially if you have double-pane windows and don’t need to put storm windows up. But there are a few really good reasons to store your screens for the window. You’ll be protecting your screens and also eliminating the possibility of snow getting trapped between your screens and windows. What’s more, screens actually block 30 to 40 percent of solar heat gain.
Turn Your Outside Water Off
Turn off the water supply to all exterior faucets and drain them—and don’t forget to disconnect and drain your hose. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of shutting water off, you can simply purchase a low-cost cover to block cold air from reaching the faucet. If you have a sprinkler system, you’ll also have to take care of that too—or hire someone to do it.
Check the Fireplace
First, make sure no critters have been using your wood-burning fireplace as their summer home. Next, make sure your damper opens and closes all the way and that your fireplace is drafting properly. If it’s been a few years, hire a chimney sweep and have your fireplace cleaned.
Bring in Patio Sets, Grills, Etc.
Unless you’re confident that your furniture, pots, and other summer staples can survive winter, now is the time to store them in the basement or garage.
Winterizing Your Home with Help from StorageMart
If you find that you’re running out of space in your garage or basement, self storage units can be a great solution. At StorageMart, we offer clean, well-lit self storage units in a variety of sizes—all of which can be rented on a month-to-month basis. Spring will be here before we know it. Until then, it pays off in the long run to keep your summer gear away from the elements and out of the way.