Prepping Your Home for Winter Weather

I know… I know… It’s only been cool for a week or so and it’s probably too soon to put up the summer clothes with our unpredictable weather. Even so, why not be one step ahead of the game and at least get our homes ready for winter? Better to be ahead than behind, right?

Start off by doing a walk through of your house, inside and outside. Check the windows and doors, specifically for drafts. You don’t want any warm air going out and you certainly don’t want any cold air coming in. You also want to check for breaks or cracks in your pipes and then cover them up with insulation to prevent them from breaking or cracking if it were to freeze this winter.

When’s the last time your gutters have been cleaned out? Now is the time to give them a check and clean them out to prevent damage to your home in a freeze. If you don’t get them cleaned out, melting ice and snow can get into your home through the roof or even flood your home because of full gutters not letting the melted ice or snow drain. While you’re cleaning your gutters or if you have your gutters cleaned by a professional, have them check out your roof as well for any damage. If there is damage to your roof and a snow or ice storm happens, once it all starts to melt, those damaged areas have the potential to let water seep into the roof and cause damage to the inside of your home. 

If you have a fireplace you should have that checked as well. Make sure that birds have not built nests in there and that you don’t have build up from last year’s cozy fireplace time. I’ve heard it said that chimney’s should be cleaned once a year, depending on how much you use it. Most companies will inspected it while they are there to clean it as well, checking the integrity of the chimney and making sure all is secure and clean before you use it.

STOCK UP... Our family made the mistake of not completely stocking up the year of Icemageddon back in 2013. We honestly didn’t think it was going to be that bad. Thank goodness we aren’t too far from a 7-11. We really needed to get out of the house anyway so we bundled up and made the trek on foot to stock up on as many things as we could carry. When Icemageddon of 2014 was on its way, WE WERE READY! Mental note taken and we were not going to get caught without supplies this time. Stocking up not just on the food but on batteries, wood for your clean fireplace in case the power goes out, candles, board and card games. It’s good to have these around your house once the weather starts to get cold that way you don’t have to fight the crowds. Avoid the madness and be prepared just in case there's an Icemageddon III. 

While the weather is nice, turn on your heater and open up your windows. Let your home air out from the funky smell the heater lets out when you turn on the heater for the first time. 

For more information on prepping your home for the winter, check out, “Winter Weather Home Maintenance Checklist” and the picture below.

The information contained in this page is provided for general informational purposes only.