When you think of the largest investment you will ever make in your life, there’s a good chance that nothing will top purchasing a home. Your home isn’t just a place to store your belongings and hang your coat at the end of the day, it’s a space that is unique to you, is welcoming, comfortable, and it brings that sense of pride. With that said, it’s only natural to take care of it and have it looking as good as possible. Wear and tear is something that occurs to every home, there is no preventing that, but you can lessen the toll it takes on your home.
As winter approaches, this is a great opportunity for homeowners to follow a checklist of items that will winterize the home and prevent as little wear and tear as possible during the harshest season of the year. So let’s take a closer look.
Winterize the Outdoors
This is the perfect time of year to give the exterior of your home a good clean so you can identify any potential problem areas and remedy them before the snow and ice arrive. Other areas you’ll want to address are:
- Turn off the outdoor water at the main source.
- Store outdoor furniture in a shed or garage or use tarps/covers on them to help protect them until spring.
- Cover up your outdoor grill with a tarp.
- Winterize any water features you may have, such as outdoor ponds and fountains. This involves turning off the water, draining out any remaining water, storing the pump indoors, and possibly disassembling the feature to store indoors. This blog from KG Landscape goes into detail on how to winterize a water feature.
- Roll up hoses and sprinklers and store them indoors so as not to crack from the cold.
- Dig out snow shovels and store them in a place that is easy to access.
- Clean out the eaves trough from all the falling leaves and debris. These will clog up the troughs and create blockages.
- Cover bushes and shrubs with burlap.
Winterize the Indoors
As for the indoors, there are plenty of steps you can also take to ensure that your home is ready for winter.
Turn on your furnace to ensure it’s working properly. This may be a good time to schedule maintenance and cleaning by a professional. It may also be time to change out the furnace filter.
You can also check the seals on your windows and doors making sure that there is no air escaping. This draft will result in heat loss during the winter months, which means your furnace will need to work harder and you’ll be spending more on home heating costs. Hanging heavy curtains/drapes will also help to prevent heat loss.
If you have ceiling fans, you can now reverse the direction so as to promote warm air circulation.
You’re Ready for the Winter
By following this checklist, you’ll be able to winterize your home for the cold months ahead.