Essential Tips For Winterizing

As the holiday season approaches, we all look forward to spending quality time with friends and family, enjoying the great vibes. Amid the hustle and bustle, there’s one crucial step we should all take to ensure our holiday season doesn’t turn into a disaster…you guessed it…WINTERIZE YOUR HOME!

Who wants to spend countless hours (and money) dealing with issues when, with just a few easy steps, we can ensure our homes are in the best possible condition for the winter weather?

Priority tasks should include furnace maintenance, checking your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, cleaning eavestroughs, and shutting off the water to your outdoor valves before the full swing of the winter season.

Let’s start with your furnace and its components! Like anything else, proper maintenance and care can save you a lot of money and energy, not to mention prolonging the life of your furnace. Always use the manufacturer’s literature for proper maintenance guidelines. Here are a few tips to remember:

• Have your furnace ducts cleaned every two to three years. Depending on their condition, you may need to step up the cleaning process, so at the very least, keep this top of mind.

• Clean filters are a MUST. They keep your home clean and reduce allergens. During heating seasons, we recommend cleaning and/or changing the filters monthly. It’s a good idea to buy filters in bulk and have them around for easy access as required. Always double-check that you are ordering the appropriate filters for your furnace.

Another quick reminder: clean your eavestroughs! As a homeowner, it’s crucial to stay on top of a cleaning schedule for your gutters. Leaves, debris, and other items can find their way into the gutters. Ensuring the gutters are free of debris and blockages is key to allowing proper flow. Remember, rainwater should be directed away from the perimeter of the home to reduce the potential of water entering through the basement walls. If water penetration happens, it can be an expensive fix, so keep an eye on this one.

Ensure all your detectors are in good working order. Please read the manufacturer’s manual for a detailed description of how to care for your home’s smoke detectors. When the smoke detector’s ionization chamber senses products of combustion, there will be a loud pulsating alarm until the air is clear of smoke particles. Batteries are recommended to be replaced twice per year. Testing your smoke detectors may not be on your radar, but it should be.

One thing that may not be on your radar, but definitely worth considering, is freezing pipes. Provided the home is heated at a normal level, pipes should not freeze. By merely turning the water off, your outdoor hose or nozzle may still freeze and get damaged. To avoid this, after locating the water shutoff valve (inside your home) for your outdoor tap, you should also be disconnecting your hose and storing it properly.

As with anything related to your home, make sure you reference your manufacturer’s maintenance requirements and schedule. This holiday season, ensure your home is properly winterized, helping make the holiday season as enjoyable as possible.

Thanks for reading!

- Robin Nasserdeen