Take care of your home this winter

Take care of your home this winter.  If I hadn’t already figured out that winter was here before I stepped out in the bitter cold this morning, well I definitely know now.  Even here in Texas, where we see ridiculously high temperatures in the summer, it’s gets down right cold in the winter and there are things you have to do to prepare your home.  Here are a few home winterizing tips to make this winter go by with a little fuss and unexpected expense as possible.

1.           This is easy. Cover your outside faucets to prevent the pipes from freezing.  The cheap covers are usually only a dollar or two at your local hardware store.

2.          Some say to have your home heating system checked by a pro every year.  For some that’s not practical but if it’s been a while, call a professional to give it a once over if possible.

3.          Go ahead and change the air filters in the A/C-Heating system in your home.  People generally do not do this often enough as it is, so just do it now.

4.          Service your fireplace.  If you have a wood burning fireplace then have the chimney sweep come out…better safe then sorry.  I have a clean burning gas fireplace that is a vented self contained unit.  It doesn’t take much maintenance but I do open it up every year and get the dead bugs out that came down through the vent and then realized they were trapped!

5.          Check to see if you feel a draft around doors and windows.  Weather stripping is cheap and easy to apply.  In some cases you may need some caulking on the outside joints around the windows.  In the long run this will save you on the utility bills.

6.          You really want to go ahead and get the leaves and gunk out of the gutters before the ice and snow hit.  Yeah, I know, I also usually wait until the spring too.  But you don’t want the weight of the ice and snow also adding to the weight of the leaves and other debris already in the gutters and then have to replace or repair a gutter that ripped off the house.

7.          Check around the foundation of your home for possible varmint entry points.  In the winter they will be looking for a warm place to stay.  It may just be up under your foundation or if they have a dime size entry point into the actual house, you can bet they will take advantage.

8.          Make sure your smoke detectors work but also be sure to have a carbon monoxide detector.  It’s also a great idea to have a fire extinguisher or two handy in your home.

9.          On those sub-freezing temperature days, make sure to keep all areas of your home supplied with heat.  In my house, our master bath stays cooler than any other part of the house.  Last year when it was in single digits, the pipes in our bathroom froze!  It’s not like the temp in the bathroom was below 32 but it wasn’t warm enough to keep the pipes in the exterior wall from freezing.  On those super cold days, we now put a small space heater in there to keep the temperature similar to the rest of the house.

10.     Know where your main water shut off is located and how to use it.  If a pipe bursts, you need to know how to quickly get to that shut off and then turn it off.  This is important.

11.       And don’t forget to take are of that outdoor landscaping that is sensitive to the cold temperatures and/or ice and snow.  Use tarps or plastic to cover them up with needed.