It isn’t just a phrase from Game of Thrones. Winter is indeed coming, and there’s not much any of us can do about it. As homeowners, we have to prepare our homes to keep our families safe and warm during the colder months. Even if you don’t live in a climate where it gets particularly chilly in the winter, there’s at least a drop in the average temperature that you need to prepare for.
But if you live in a place that has to prepare for snow and particularly inclement weather, there are some steps you should take before it’s too cold to ensure your home runs well during those chillier times. Some of them are easy, and you can do them yourself, and others you may need some assistance with. Regardless, they shouldn’t be ignored, or you may have to pay big money to fix them.
Keep the gutters clear
It might be time to get on that ladder
Credit: f
I live in the northeast, and one of the best times of the year is the fall. Not only does the weather feel crisper, and it’s football season, but it’s also foliage season. I adore the look of my area during this time because of how beautiful the leaves look as they change colors. But once they fall off, it’s a nightmare to deal with.
Leaves are not only clogging up your lawn, but they can also clog up your gutters. Gutters are there to keep debris and water away from your home, and downspouts travel a safe distance away from your home. You want to keep your gutters clear because snow and winter rain can pack them, and then they need to melt and run through your downspouts. If they are clogged with leaves, it can prevent anything from traveling through the downspouts.
This can, in turn, cause water damage to your home’s foundation or siding. Water can pool near your home’s foundation or cause your roof to rot. It’s advised to clean your gutters at least twice a year. You can also install gutter guards, which protect your gutters from leaf and debris buildup while still allowing water to run into them.
Reverse your ceiling fans
Circulate the warm air more evenly
If you’re like me, you keep your ceiling fans running at all times. Just having a little bit of air circulating is something I prefer, and being able to turn it up or down at different times each year helps the heating and cooling bills. What you may not know about your ceiling fans is that they might be able to spin in different directions.
I upgraded some of the ceiling fans when I moved into my home a few years ago and purchased remote-controlled fans. One of the nice features of them is that they can reverse their rotation. In the warmer months, you should be spinning yours counterclockwise. This allows colder air to be pushed downward, spreading out cooler temperatures in the room.
But when the temperatures drop, you want to reverse your ceiling fan. You’re turning your heater on, and warm air is circulating through your house. It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from a radiator, wall vents, or floorboards. Warm air and heat rise towards the ceiling. By spinning your fans in a clockwise direction, the updraft will circulate the warm air back down towards the room, making your heater more efficient. This can alleviate any cold spots in your home more effectively, as the warmer air will be distributed more evenly throughout the room.
Get your heater checked for maintenance
Do this ideally once a year
Unless you have experience dealing with heating systems, it is smart to have a trained technician check your heater. They will know what to look for in terms of leaks, changing filters, and performing readings.
Depending on how old your house is, there are all kinds of heating units that it could have. For anyone using more than space heaters to heat their home, you most likely have a gas or oil heating unit that helps distribute heat through your home. If you have an oil heating system, you have to make sure that the oil tank is at least half full ahead of the winter months. You’re going to be burning it more frequently, and you don’t want to run out of oil when it’s the coldest of months.
The tank needs to be inspected for leaks, and there shouldn’t be any clogs near the vent. Changing the oil filter is also a must. Properly insulating the area where the tank and fuel lines are is vital, as you don’t want them to freeze when it gets really cold. If your pipes freeze, they won’t freeze with water in them. They gel, causing a blockage that doesn’t allow the furnace to turn on and potentially causing more damage to the furnace.
If you have a gas heating unit, you should have the carbon monoxide levels tested to ensure there aren’t any leaks in your heater. The pilot light and burners should be inspected, as well as the heat exchanger. If you have a full-home humidifier, make sure to change the humidistat to your preferred setting and change the filter.
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Insulate windows to prevent drafts
Keep the cold air outside
As the temperatures drop, you can put your hand on a window pane and feel the chill through the glass. What you don’t want to feel when you put your hand near a window in the winter is the feeling of air. If you’re feeling a draft coming from your windows, it means they aren’t properly insulated.
Having windows that aren’t sealed can cost you a lot of money on your heating bill, as your heater is working extra hard to warm up the area. If you haven’t replaced the windows in your home in a long time (or you never have), you have to be especially careful about feeling for drafts around the window or seeing if there is any condensation built up between panes. This means that your windows aren’t properly insulated.
What you can do to protect the window (before replacing potentially dozens of windows) is install window insulation foam or window caulk near any cracks. This can help seal the area and prevent air from coming in. You can also opt for window film, which is similar to adhesive tape and can cause a tight seal as well.
You should also consider drafts coming through doors to the outside as well. You can stop air from coming in at the bottom by sliding on some door insulator strips at the bottom or top to help create a more complete barrier.
Keep your tires inflated
I’ve dealt with this too much
Credit: Chris Hachey / MakeUseOf
This one is more for outside your home, as you should be aware that your tires take a beating during the winter. Whether it’s on your snowblower, leaf blower, or your car, cold air reduces tire pressure, potentially causing your tires to become flat, especially if you don’t have winter tires.
You should preemptively fill your tires with air up to their proper PSI to get ready for the winter. This can be done either with a hand pump, an air compressor, or something like the Airmoto portable air pump as seen above. I’ve had this for about a year, and it has come in handy multiple times.
It offers different nozzles to fit different tires and has a micro compressor that can pump air quickly and with force. You’re likely going to see your tire pressure light come on in your car during the winter. Rather than having to stop at the local gas station and pay some quarters to run around your car and fill up the tires, a portable air pump is a smart investment, as you can do it whenever the problem arises.
Your home needs some work done before winter
It’s important to remember that you need to take care of some winterizing tasks before winter actually comes. Being prepared can help you avoid paying a lot of money if something goes wrong. Saving money on your heating bill is more likely if you take steps to make your home’s heating work more efficiently.
