When the temperatures start to cool down, you may be thinking about what you can do to get your home ready for the colder weather. By taking the time to winterize your home now, you may be able to avoid some costly repairs in the future. While it can take at least several hours to tackle winterization tasks, it will ensure that the interior of your home stays warm even when the temperatures start to drop outside. There are five tips that you can utilize to make winterizing your home easy.
1. Assess Your Gutters
It’s not uncommon for many homeowners to forget about checking their gutters when winterizing their homes. If there is too much debris in them, they won’t be able to divert rain or melted snow away from your home. This can eventually lead to issues with the foundation. Climb up on a ladder to look for things blocking your gutters, like leaves or branches. You should also check to make sure that your gutters are securely attached to your house. If they are too loose, then they could fall if you get a big snowstorm. If you aren’t comfortable cleaning or making simple repairs to your gutters, you can hire a professional to do it for you.
2. Have Your Chimney Cleaned
When it’s frigid outside, your chimney can provide a lot of warmth to your home. However, a buildup of soot can increase the risk of a chimney fire. Therefore, you need to have your chimney cleaned well before you plan on using it. While a chimney sweep is cleaning it, the professional can also inspect it to ensure that the flue works properly and that there isn’t any interior damage that needs to be addressed. Even if you don’t use your chimney very often, you should still have it cleaned at least once a year.
3. Schedule HVAC or Furnace Maintenance
You don’t want your heat to go out in the dead of winter. Because of this, you should schedule HVAC or furnace maintenance when you are winterizing your home. Regular maintenance can help you avoid certain issues, and our technicians at Dugan Air Heating & Cooling can look for problems that need to be corrected. Even if it doesn’t appear as if you have any issues with your HVAC system or furnace, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t some sort of problem that will become bigger and more expensive to fix later on.
4. Drain and Cover Outdoor Spigots
Freezing temperatures can damage your pipes and outdoor spigots. Fortunately, you can easily winterize them yourself in a short amount of time. To begin, you will need to find the shut-off valve that’s located inside your home. Once you shut it off, you can turn your hoses on to drain out all the water. Wait a few hours so that they can fully drain. Turn them off, then inspect the spigots to make sure all the fittings are in good shape. If needed, make any needed repairs. Put a faucet cover over the top of each spigot. This will help insulate them and keep them from sustaining damage once the temperatures drop below freezing.
5. Check Your Window and Exterior Door Seals
Many people don’t realize that drafty windows and doors can really cost them a lot of money. Even small leaks will let cold air in, and this will make it more difficult to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. You can easily check the seals on your windows and doors by walking in front of them and putting your hand near where they shut to see if you can feel any air. If you do, you can simply replace the weatherstripping. This is also the perfect opportunity to walk around the exterior of your home to look for any gaps or cracks that need to be filled with exterior caulking.
If you haven’t begun the process of winterizing your home in Franklin, IN, now is a good time to start. While you can complete some of these tasks yourself, we can help you with all your heating and cooling needs. We also offer UV lights, air purifiers, humidifiers, and more. Our licensed technicians can do everything from providing general maintenance and repair to replacing your entire system. Call us at Dugan Air Heating & Cooling today so that we can make sure your HVAC system is ready for winter.