Winter is well on its way, making it a great time for homeowners everywhere to get their homes ready for winter. While climates may vary, winterizing your home for colder months will not only have your home looking better but potentially save you hundreds of dollars!
Whether you are a homeowner, or a real estate investor looking to prep your properties for winter, this checklist will have your properties ready for winter! Winterizing a home does not need to be complicated! You can easily prepare your home for winter with these 3 easy tips.
Winterizing the Exterior Of Your Home
Winterizing your home is simply preparing your home for winter, which is why landscaping and maintenance of the exterior of your home are so important. In the winter months, most of your home cannot be worked on due to the winter cold. This is why it is so important to prepare the exterior of your home.
Cleaning is a great way to winterize your home. Sidewalks, patios, windows, and gutters are all parts of the exterior of your home that should be deeply cleaned. Remove Leaves, repair broken sections of gutters, seal leaks, and ensure water properly flows.
Powerwashing is a great way to clean up your home, and also prepare your home for winter. By power washing, you can easily remove mildew and dirt from your home. Hard money lenders in Scottsdale know that power washing your home can also give you a great boost in home value. Additionally, you can prepare your sidewalks and driveways for winter by deep cleaning and repairing cracks to make your surfaces less likely to ice over.
You should also waterproof the exterior of your home. With caulk, you can easily seal cracks in the foundation and windows that can cause damage in the colder months.
Additionally, you will want to store any outdoor furniture and tools. Remove all garden hoses that are attached to the house, drain them and store them away. Shut off the valves and insulate the faucet to prevent these pipes from bursting in the cold winter months.
Insulating And Heating Your Home
As the temperature begins to cool outside, you should ensure that your home is properly heated and insulated. There are many ways you can insulate your home, but it is important to make sure your home is not impacted by the temperature outside.
One of the most important things you can do leading up to winter is to inspect your heating system. This will ensure that your home not only stays warm but that there are no issues with your heating system. You should also replace the air filter for your home, and test smoker detectors. These are extremely important as this will ensure your home is safe and is winterizing your home is quick to do.
You can also ensure your home is properly insulated, by inspecting or replacing windows, replacing insulation throughout your home, and sealing windows for the winter. You can easily seal windows you don’t plan to use for winter by using temporary caulking you can ensure that you don’t lose heat thru cracks and seals, and simply remove them in the spring.
By following these tips you can easily insulate your home and be warm all winter long! But while the interior of your home may be cozy for winter, you have to ensure the plumbing is in proper order before winter comes.
Plumbing
Plumbing is one of the most important ways to winterize your home. Burst pipes can cause hundreds to thousands of dollars in repairs, and lead to mold or other issues with a home. Therefore ensuring your pipes are ready for winter is key to getting a home ready for winter.
Check your pipes for leaks and fix any issues. Also, make sure to turn off water valves and shut off faucets that will not be in use in the winter to prevent freezing. You should also ensure your pipes are properly insulated to prevent freezing.
If the weather drops under the freezing point, make sure to keep a small stream of water running in a few faucets to guard against freezing and bursting. You can also open cabinet doors to allow warmer air to ensure pipes don’t freeze as well.
Another way you can protect your home from freezing is to install or inspect an emergency pressure release valve in your plumbing system. This will protect against increased pressure caused by freezing pipes and can prevent them from bursting.
It’s also a good idea to learn how to shut the water off and know where your pipes are located. This can be helpful when monitoring your pipes to prevent freezes, and ensure they are properly insulated. If you have a winter vacation away from your home, you can also shut your pipes off to prevent pipes from freezing.
By properly maintaining your plumbing before the colder weather hits, you can prevent expensive plumbing repairs, and mold, and ensure your pipes are in proper working order for winter.
Summary:
Are you ready for sweater weather? It’s time to get your home ready for winter! Thankfully you can easily get your home winterized with these 3 Tips!
3 Easy Ways to Winterize Your Home
- Winterizing Exterior Of Your Home: Deep clean, powerwash, and put away outdoor accessories.
- Insulating And Heating Your Home: Take extra steps to insulate your home by sealing your windows, adding additional insulation, and getting your heating system inspected.
- Plumbing: Prevent bursting pipes when you prep your pipes for winter through insulation, keeping cabinets open and checking water valves.
Have You Winterized Your Home?
