12 Tips to Prepare Your Home for Winter
Snowy weather is just around the corner, are you ready? Taking a little time to prepare your home for the winter weather can go a long way in saving you money, time, and a lot of headaches. Below is a list of twelve things you can do to prepare your home and your family for winter.
- Clean out the gutters, disconnect all outside hoses. Shut off outside water valves.
- Caulk and weather-strip doors and windows.
- Remove tree branches that could fall on your house – or your neighbor’s house when weighed down with snow.
- Wrap the water pipes in your basement or crawl space with insulation sleeves to slow heat transfer.
- Wrap your hot water heater with insulation or insulated blankets.
- If you have a fireplace, keep the flue closed when you’re not using it.
- Position furniture so it doesn’t block your home’s heating vents.
- During extreme cold spells, keep kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors open to allow warm air to circulate around pipes.
- Keep a slow trickle of water flowing through faucets connected to pipes that run through unheated spaces
- Vacant houses should be winterized by having the water drained from the pipes.
- Have a 3-day supply of water and food available in case of emergency.
- Make sure to have fresh batteries, flashlights, and lanterns readily available in case of a power outage.
These steps can help to prepare you and your family for the winter weather to come. We care about you and want you to be safe and happy this Holiday season. If you found this helpful, be sure to check out our article, “Seven Ways to Prepare Your Car for Winter.”