Preparing Your Home For Winter
We all love winter; the crisp weather, Christmas, cozy sweaters and fluffy socks. And as much as we prepare our wardrobes for the season, how often do you prepare your home? No one wants to come home looking forward to snuggling up in the warmth and finding frost climbing on the inside of the windows. We all expect to spend more money on the heating bill in the winter, but when you don’t prepare your house for the cold, you may as well use your money to clog up the cracks.
Here are some tips on how to prepare your home for the winter.
Doors
It’s time to check your doors for any cracks around the seals. You would be surprised at how much heat you lose through a cracked seal. It’s easy to repair, but some larger damages might require you to call someone out to fix it. You should also consider the type of door you have – a basic wooden door won;t keep the heat in as well as a PVC double glazed door. If you can’t just suddenly replace your door before winter, then you can keep the heat is by fixing a thick curtain over the door, and close it at night. And you can use draft stoppers throughout your house. Also, keep doors to different rooms shut – it’s easier to heat up one room than the entire house.
Windows
The same rules for doors apply for windows. Make sure the seals aren’t broken, although if they are, they are easy to fix. And look at the type of windows you have. Double glazed will always keep the heat in better than single panel windows. You can use thick curtains to keep the heat in, but if you have radiators directly underneath a window, the heat will travel up the curtain and out the window. So use more draft stoppers and place them on your windowsill, on top of the curtain – essentially creating a seal between the sill and the heat.
Garage
Regardless of whether your garage is attached to your house or not, you need to winter-proof it. Any tools, equipment or cars that you keep in the garage can be affected by the cold. If your door is broken, look into garage door repair because the frost and snow will get in easily through any gaps. You might want to look at waterproofing your garage as well, so that any melted snow or frost won’t run in and ruin your things. You can pile sandbags along any possible leak points if you can’t fully waterproof it. Also, make sure that anything that could be easily damaged by the damp is packed away in plastic boxes just in case.
Boiler and Heating
It might be time for you to have your boiler serviced so that you know it won’t break in the middle of winter. The same can be said for your heating system. If it is working fine, then don’t waste any money having someone come out and look at it. If you have a log burning fire, make sure your log stock is protected against any cold, and if it’s possible that animals might have made a home in the pile, then double check before it gets too cold so that you can relocate their hibernation.
