With winter coming, you need to prepare regardless of where you live. A winter checklist differs based on where you are living because some regions are blanketed with snow while others just experience extreme cold. Despite these differences, it is important to stay on top of things to avoid experiencing a crisis.
It is important to know that before the snow falls, it would be better that you wrap up on your renovations particularly a kitchen remodelling project. During the winter season, you may want to have a functional kitchen so that you make meals to help you battle the cold weather. Winding up your remodelling activities in the kitchen will give enough room as well as the luxury to entertain friends and family during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
When it comes to a winter home maintenance checklist, some things are a top priority for any home. Here are 7 to-dos before the temperatures drop:
Maintaining your property well also means less work if you ever plan to sell in the future. If you want to know what your home is worth right now, book a free evaluation here.
1. Double-Check Your Heating System
The most hazardous thing that you can do is fail to check your heating system. You need to find out whether your HVAC system or furnace works and probably give it some maintenance so that it serves you all through winter. Ensure that the igniter switch is functional and change the air filter for the HVAC system. Additionally, you should clean the fireplace if you have one to avoid a buildup of dirt on it. Studies have shown that when you use a fireplace littered with waste, you risk the emission of poisonous gases that may cause life-threatening conditions.
Planning on buying a home? The posts below will help you know what to look for:
- Why You Shouldn’t Skip the Home Inspection
- Conditions & Clauses to Avoid Putting in Your Home Offer
- 10 Things To Consider When Buying a Home
2. Get Your Pipes Ready
During winter, pipes are prone to freezing and this can cause you to have water shortages. In serious scenarios, they can burst thereby causing flooding in your home. Therefore, this is the right time to inspect and insulate them. Apart from causing you water shortage, when you insulate, your water system works efficiently saving you a lot of money.
Spigots also tend to freeze hence the need to disconnect hoses from them. Lastly, if you intend to travel out of town, you may need to program your thermostat to maintain temperatures in your house at 68°F so that your pipes can keep on pumping water.
3. Flip Fans in a Clockwise Direction
If you are the kind of person who runs their fans during winter, it is time to switch your ceiling fans to clockwise direction. By so doing, they enhance the circulation of warm air in the whole room. When the snow falls, you may need to ensure that they run at slow speed so that they serve their purpose of providing a warm feel in the house.
4. Trim Your Trees
Winter is sometimes marked by storms, rain, or wind, and having tree limbs hanging around can be risky. Therefore, you need to cut down these limbs especially the ones that hang near your windows and around the house. While at it, you may also want to inspect your property to ensure that there are no potential limbs that could block your entryway when snow falls on them. Furthermore, the winter season doesn’t mean that you should stop gardening. You can always set up a little indoor garden. It’s also worth mentioning that if you have a spacious room, not being used, you can opt for a grow tent, to stimulate your plants’ growth. Grow tents are very adequate if you’d like to set up a bigger indoor garden, and there’s not much natural sunlight coming in during the winter.
Should you invest in Guelph real estate? The posts below will help you decide:
- A Complete Guide to Real Estate Investing in Guelph
- How to Generate Passive Income From Your Primary Residence
- Is Buying an Income Property Still Worth It for Small Investors?
5. Clean the Gutters
Cleaning the gutters ensures that you do not give pests room to breed and damage your house or have debris prevent water from draining effortlessly. With autumn leaving a lot of leaves around, you may want to clean the gutters before the cold season begins. Here are tips on how you can clean the gutters:
- Use a plastic scoop to collect debris
- Flush off the dirt so that they as spotless
- Install gutter covers to avoid dirt from settling there
6. Protect Outdoor Furniture
Do not forget that you will need to bask in the outdoors once winter is over. Hence, ensure that your patio furniture is covered properly. In case it is high-end furniture, you can move it into the house so that it does not get damaged. Suppose the furniture is in-built, you can take away the cushions and leave the bases outside.
7. Seal Your Windows
You could use the window insulation kits to protect your windows. These kits function to block cold air that may come into the house through the corners and crevices. Ensuring the windows are airtight will reduce your heating bill significantly. This step may require you to hire a professional to do it so that they inspect all the windows to ascertain that there are no leaks.
As it is, the energy bill in winter is often high. For that sole reason, following this home maintenance checklist will save a lot of money on your energy bill. Of all the things you may want to prepare, these activities should be high on your list of priorities.
Do you want to talk more about buying, selling, or investing in Guelph or the Tri-Cities? Our top Guelph real estate agents are happy to show you the ropes. Reach out to 519-826-7109 or email info@gowylde.ca to get started.
