Winter preparation tasks are something that every homeowner must undertake each year before the first frost. By being proactive with your cold-weather preparation, you’ll remain warm inside your home throughout the season.
Winter Preparation Tips for Your Home
Now that you have a better understanding of the importance of winter preparation, it’s time to understand what it involves. These tasks vary depending on the area of your home.
Windows and Doors
The best place to start your winter preparation is with your windows and doors. These areas are where most of the cold air will seep into your home. At the same time, this area is also where warm air escapes from your home. Cold weather preparation in this area includes:
- An essential part of your winter preparations is checking the weatherstripping to see if it needs to be replaced.
- Switch out screen doors and windows. Install your storm doors and windows instead.
- Make sure wooden window frames aren’t decayed.
- Check around your windows and doors for drafts and caulk them.
Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning
Another area to remember when you do your cold-weather preparation is your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. You don’t want your HVAC system to break down in the middle of the cold season. To prevent this from happening to you, here are a few things you can do:
- As you’re making your cold-weather preparations, make sure there isn’t any soot or creosote built up in the firebox, flue system, or cracks.
- Look for drafts when the damper is closed. If you find any, it may mean that the damper is warped, worn, or rusted and needs to be replaced.
- You’ll also need to either clean or replace your furnace’s air filter so that it works efficiently.
The Outdoor Area of Your Home
Once you’ve completed your indoor winter preparation tasks, you may want to take a look around the outdoor area of your home. There are a few different things you’ll want to take care of here.
Gutters, Roof, and Drains
Your roof drains, and gutters are vital when you’re making cold-weather preparations. Here are a few things to do here:
- Replace any missing, damaged, or warped shingles so water doesn’t leak into your home.
- Ensure that there’s proper fastening around your gutters and downspouts.
- Remove debris from your gutters. Make sure downspouts extend 5 feet away from your home so that you don’t have water damage from snowmelt.
- Cover all vents and openings, so insects, birds, and rodents don’t come inside and turn your home into theirs.
Lawn, Garden, and Decks
While you’re outdoors, take some time to look around you. Check out your lawn, garden, and decks. There are a few different things you’ll want to do here:
- Trim any overgrown branches back away from your home and electrical wires so that it doesn’t cause you an issue when it gets icy outside.
- As part of your outdoor winter preparations, you should remove any soil that’s still in your planters and bring fragile pots (e.g. clay, terra cotta) indoors.
- Store all your hoses in your garage or shed, so they don’t crack or lose shape over the winter.
One More Thing To Remember This Winter
If you think that all of this cold weather preparation sounds like a lot of work, you’re right. It gets even more challenging when you decide to move in the middle of the winter season. That’s why we’re here at Quality Moving of Colorado in Denver, CO.
Regardless of what the weather is like outdoors, our customers are satisfied with the service we provide. That’s because we go out of our way to provide high-quality customer service. So, when you’re ready to make your next move, remember to reach out to us.
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