Winterize Your House This Upcoming Fall Season
Friday, October 14th, 2011Almost everyone has been aware of spring cleaning, but not many people know what it means to winterize your home. It is a good strategy every fall, to examine the house and see if it is prepared to get through another winter. Autumn, with the attendant dying out of leafy growth, is a good time to examine your residence’s walls, since it will be easier to spot any shrubs that are becoming invasive. Clinging vines and the roots of plants harm siding and even bricks, so it is good to keep them cleaned off.
When they are no longer needed to do any watering, the garden hose should all be emptied and rolled up to be placed into storage for the winter. The outside faucets need to have the water turned off, and then helped to drain dry. Have the garden furniture cleaned up and stored someplace dry, once you are done using it till the following year. In case you have any trees which are still young, and especially those that have not endured a winter, shield them by placing mulch around the base of their stems. All drainage ditches should be cleared to enable them to cope with any heavy rains.
Fireplaces pop into your head when the weather begins getting colder. Get your chimney swept soon enough, before the first cold spell, because that’s typically when everyone wakes up and wants it done. If you use fire wood, do not postpone in finding someone and getting a good supply built up. When traveling around rural areas, you might find local people who sell fire wood, without lots of advertising.
Check out and confirm that all the smoke alarm systems are working, irrespective of whether you light fires in winter or not. If you leave your Holiday lights up for the whole year, check that the cords continue to be flexible. If you typically mount storm windows, the time has come to do it. You should assess if any of the weather-stripping has become dried out from the summer’s heat and has to be replaced.
Verify the effective working order of the stove hood filters, since during winter the windows are mostly closed. Check the dirt around your home to make sure that it still slopes away. If water appears to drain into the basement, or the foundation, that can be bad news for your house. In the first instance it leads to wet rot, which could change to dry rot after some time, which you sincerely want to do without. You need to search for seepage regularly.
Leaking cannot be kept at bay forever, so check the places where leaks most commonly occur, these being the roofing, the guttering, the downpipes and the interior plumbing. Make it a priority to get any existing leaks you find fixed. Wrap any exterior pipes, undoubtedly so if your house is older, and minimize drafts by placing a cover over air-conditioning units. It is a good idea to shampoo the carpets and rugs, since dust is more noticeable in the winter. While you are at it, you might as well wash the windows.
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