With winter coming, it’s important to get your home ready for the season. This isn’t just for your own levels of comfort in the home; it’s also to save money on those often expensive heating bills. The good news is that there are things that you can do that will get your home ready for winter. By reading on, you can learn all about the top tips for winterizing your home, as well as some fun advice about decorating for the season.
Your heating or HVAC system should be ready for the season. There are things that you should do, such as removing obstructions from the vent pipes or getting your system cleaned out that can really help get your system ready for winter. If you have any concerns, you should consider getting a professional to your home to ensure that the system is working properly and that the humidity in your home is just right. This is especially important if you live in a home with wood flooring, particularly wide plank floors. If there is too much humidity in the home and your system is not functioning properly, wide gaps could form in between the boards when cold weather occurs. Wider planks are more susceptible to this than narrower, strip wood flooring––wider planks are inherently more unstable. The threat of winter gaps decreases when you have engineered wide plank floors.
You should also do whatever you can to prevent ice dams when snow hits. Did you notice a lot of ice dams forming on your roof last winter? These buildups of ice, if left untreated, cause damage to your walls, ceilings, insulation and other areas in your home. One immediate way to remove them is with a roof rake. If the problem is more intense or far-reaching, however, sealing air leakage pathways from your attic to your roof or adding more insulation to the roof might be the only possible solution. You can call in a weatherization contractor or energy auditor to make an assessment and see what you need to improve upon to prevent this issue from happening long-term.
Lastly, be sure to winterize your doors and windows as needed. Any small cracks around the frame of the windows in your home can allow cold air to seep into your home, which means you may need to seal them to prevent this from happening. Not only can this problem allow cold air come to in, but it also allows your precious heat to escape your home. Using weatherstripping materials you should go around your home to make sure that all windows and doors are sealed up and ready to go for the winter. If you have a fireplace, you should also be sure that the chimney is checked out and cleaned professionally before turning it on for the season to make sure that you can use it safely.
Getting ready for your home doesn’t just have to be about the humdrum home improvement tasks. This is also the time when you can pull out your fun winter décor. Incorporate cool wintery items into your décor, including winter-themed wreaths. Embracing winter in both the fun and responsible ways can help you better enjoy these colder months. Just because things tend to look dark and dreary in winter, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun. And, when you take the steps to get your home ready for winter you can enjoy this cold season from the comfort of a fully prepared warm home!