How To Winter-Proof Your Home
The chilly weather is here, but that doesn’t mean you have to be uncomfortable. Winter-proofing your home can save you money and keep you nice and toasty. Here are four things you can do this winter to ensure your house is ready for its first freeze.
Winter-Proof Your Home
Keep Out Cold Air
Insulate your windows. This is the most important thing to do when you want to keep out cold air—and it's relatively inexpensive! You can buy foam insulation kits that are shaped like triangles and fit into the corners of your window frames, or you can use cotton batting or other materials to fill in gaps between the panes of glass.
Insulate your doors. If you have a drafty door, it's time to put on some weather-stripping tape! Wrap it around the edges of your door and tighten down any loose screws or bolts, so they don't cause air leaks.
Keep curtains closed during winter months. This will reduce drafts coming through open windows by keeping the heat in, which means less money spent on heating bills (yay!). It also helps keep sunlight from shining across furniture and carpeting during daytime hours—which could lead to fading if left exposed for too long—so ensure all curtains are secure enough against the wind and the light.
Use a draft excluder under every door leading outside if possible; this keeps warm air inside but allows cold air outside access without passing directly through living quarters.
Adjust Your Thermostat
If you want to keep your home warm and cozy, the first step is to adjust your thermostat. This can be as simple as setting it a few degrees higher or lower than usual when the weather gets colder. However, if you have an older model thermostat that doesn't have a built-in heat sensor or auto-adjustment feature, it may not be able to tell when the temperature drops to turn on its furnace fan more often. If this is the case with your home's heating system, consider purchasing a modern programmable thermostat to schedule when the unit turns on and off during the day and night.
Another thing that can affect how much heat comes out of your heater is what kind of filter it uses: air filters are designed specifically for venting systems like furnaces, while water filters are meant for whole-house systems such as hot water heaters or radiators. If there are any problems with these filters—such as clogs caused by dust buildup—they'll hamper airflow, which reduces efficiency throughout all parts of your HVAC system.
Keep Your Pipes From Freezing
Keep the temperature above freezing. The warmer it is in your home, the less likely it is that your pipes will freeze.
Insulate pipes. If you can't keep your home warm enough to prevent freezing, insulate the exposed portions of all pipes with foam insulation or hot water pipe wraps.
Turn off the water before cold weather sets in, and drain all open pipes if necessary. If you cannot turn off your water supply, run a trickle of cold water through each pipe and drain it once temperatures drop below freezing at night (or when you leave for work and won't be home that day). This trick should prevent bursting from expanding ice in the lines during low-temperature spells and allow time for thawing before use resumes.
Keep Your Gutters Clean
Keeping your gutters clean is essential to winter-proofing your home. Not only will blocked gutters allow water to seep into and damage the structure of your home, but they can also lead to mold growth inside your walls. To keep them free of debris, use a leaf blower or vacuum cleaner to remove leaves, pine needles, and other debris from the gutter. Avoid using ladders or other unsecured tools that could fall off the roof or down through the gutter as you clean them out—that way, you'll avoid any unnecessary slips or falls on icy surfaces during this process!
Conclusion
We hope this article has given you some ideas for keeping your home warm in the winter. At the very least, we want you to know that there are some important things you can do to save money and stay comfortable during these cold months.
Learn how to apply for a loan or refinance your current one with Military Homespot Lending. Click here for the details.