10 Tips for Winterizing Your Home

Winter is in full swing. You can tell by the leafless trees, early evenings, and layer of frost each morning. If you haven’t winterized your home yet, there’s still time. Use these winterization tips to keep your home safe, efficient and warm this winter.

1. Schedule Maintenance for Your Home’s Heating

Your furnace has been unused all summer. To prepare it for another heating season, schedule a visit from a qualified technician to evaluate, clean and tune up the equipment. The most affordable way to keep your heating system in great shape over the years is to sign up for a Maintenance+ membership.

2. Have Your Fireplace Inspected

Hire a professional to examine and clean your wood-burning stove or fireplace once per year. This service removes ash, soot and creosote buildup, which can result in chimney fires. It also gives you peace of mind that the masonry, chimney liner, crown, and other fireplace components are in suitable condition.

3. Seal Air Leaks

As you prepare to run your furnace in cold weather, try to find and seal air leaks that allow cold outdoor air to get inside. The best way to discover leaks is to hold a lit candle or incense stick in areas that may be leaky, like near windows and doors, recessed light fixtures, plumbing penetrations and electrical outlets. Then, seal the leaks you’ve found with weatherstripping, caulk, foam gaskets and expanding spray foam.

4. Use Ceiling Fans in Reverse

Ceiling fans keep you cool over the summer, but they can also disperse warm air down to the living space over the winter. For best results, set your fans on low and run them in reverse. This tactic is most effective in stairwells and rooms with vaulted ceilings.

5. Install Insulating Drapes

Another way to winterize your home is to trade out light, summery window coverings for thicker, insulating drapes. Make sure to pull back the drapes during the day so the sun continues warming your home for free. Then, close the curtains after dark for increased insulation against the frigid night air.

6. Insulate Your Pipes

As the temperature falls, exposed pipes are in danger of freezing and bursting. Install foam pipe insulation to plumbing in the garage, crawlspace or unfinished basement to prevent this. Electric heat tape underneath the insulation gives you an additional layer of protection in very frigid climates.

7. Install Smoke Alarms & Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Sealing up your house, baking more and heating with combustion appliances increases the risk of home fires and carbon monoxide poisoning in the winter. Be careful with matches, candles and other open flames, and make sure your smoke alarms are functioning. Then, put in CO detectors on every floor of your home, particularly outside sleeping areas. Test your alarms each month and change the batteries twice yearly.

8. Upgrade to a Programmable Thermostat

Do you still use an old analog thermostat? You can save on heating bills this winter by getting a programmable model. Pre-programmed settings fine-tune the temperature at various times of the day, so you can set it and forget it. A Wi-Fi thermostat is a high-tech option that lets you adjust the settings remotely using an internet-enabled device. You also benefit from automatically generated energy reports and maintenance tips.

9. Prevent Ice Dams

Ice dams are ridges of ice that form along the eaves, stopping melted snow from draining off the roof. Left alone, ice dams can allow water to flow under the shingles and damage things in the attic. Use these tips to deter ice dams this winter:

• • Clean the gutters so water can clear away properly.

• • Ventilate the attic to stop heat buildup that can melt snow from below.

• • Seal attic floor penetrations to stop hot air from rising through the ceiling.

• • Insulate the attic floor to further reduce heat transfer through the ceiling.

• • Seal and insulate ductwork running through the attic.

• • Make sure your kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans and the dryer vent lead outside the house, not into the attic.

10. Keep Deicer Close By

Slips and falls are particularly common in freezing winter weather. Keep your sidewalks and driveway safe by sprinkling salt, kitty litter or chemical deicer along the pavement to melt the ice and snow. Be sure to read the directions for proper application tips and suggested precautions.

Winterizing Your Home with Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing

Many winterization tips relate primarily to your home heating, cooling,and plumbing systems. If you need help winterizing your home, contact Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. We offer excellent furnace maintenance and repair, plumbing work, and other services to prepare you for cold weather. For more information about our services or to {request|schedule|arrange]] an estimate, please contact your local Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing office today.