With the winter weather, this is the season you’ll be spending the most time in your home, especially if you’re hosting the holidays. With the weather outside so frightful, it’s important that your home is ready for winter, especially when it needs to beat back the freezing temperatures, ice, and snow. Put a little work in right now to avoid issues mid-holiday, as well as to nip any winter home damages in the bud. Here are four places to focus on keeping your home warm – and safe – this winter.
1. Investigate Your Insulation
No one likes a cold home, right? While replacing all the insulation in a home is a large remodeling task, that shouldn’t stop you from focusing on smaller areas of the home to keep heat in (or out). Some places it pays to insulate:
- Insulate Your Water Heater: Does it seem like every winter your hot water goes on vacation? Try getting an insulation blanket for your water heater, especially if it’s in an unfinished basement.
- Insulate Your Water Pipes: Have pipes that run through cold parts of your home (such as your attic or basement)? Wrapping them in insulation will keep the hot water hotter and avoid freezing and burst pipes.
- Insulate Your Attic: If you’ve got a storage attic, make sure it’s insulated from the rest of your home. Not only will this help with the heating bills, but it will also help you avoid dangerous ice dams that can cause water damage to your home.
2. Pay Attention to Doors and Windows
Doors and windows can be weak points for your home when it comes to keeping out the winter chill. If you’ve got drafty doors or windows, it’s time to break out the weather stripping. If your door’s threshold has a gap in it, think about buying and installing a sweep to bridge the gap. While now’s not the best time for new installations, keep track of problem doors and windows and think about replacing them when the weather is better.
3. Get a Checkup on Your Furnace and Chimney
The last thing you want is a cold home, or worse, a smoke-filled one. Before you start relying too heavily on your furnace or chimney this season, make sure it’s up to the task. For furnaces, get an inspection, replace the filters, and make sure you’ve got all the fuel you need. For chimneys, inspect yours for creosote buildup, and make sure to stock up on firewood along with other winter essentials. Both of these will help your heating stay steady, and avoid any potential smoke or fire damage.
4. Play It Safe with Snow
That first day of snow is magical, but it can quickly become a hazard to your home. Think about getting a snow rake to keep the strain off your roof, as well as helping keep ice dams from forming. Likewise, if you’ve got snow piling up around the base of your home, think about shoveling it now to help avoid snowmelt water from flooding your basement.
As always, it’s important to protect your home in the event a winter disaster does strike. Making sure you’ve got homeowners insurance is vital if you own your home, and renters insurance can help in the event of your property being damaged in your leased home. The TJ Woods Insurance Agency offers award-winning service as an independent insurance agency, and we can help you make sure you have comprehensive coverage for the winter. Contact us today to find out more.
