Preparing your home for winter

By Melissa Wirkus

Winter is fast approaching, so it is important to make preparations to your home during the fall to get ready for the colder months that are ahead.

Even if you do not live in an area that gets a lot of snow (or any at all for that matter) does not mean that there are no preparations to make to your house to ensure that your have a safe and sound winter.

There is actually a variety of things you can do to get ready for winter.

An October 13, 2006 article from Inman News, “Your fall home-maintenance checklist,” discusses the things you should do to your home to get ready for the chill that is soon to come.

“Fall is already in the air, which means that another chilly winter can't be too far behind. So before the cold weather arrives and you snuggle up indoors again, here's your annual checklist of things to do to get your home ready for the change of season.”

One of the most important things to do when preparing your house for the winter is to check the smoke detectors. It is way too common for homeowners to neglect their smoke detectors because they simply forget about them.

But make sure you put this task at the top of your list.

“Please don't neglect that smoke detector any longer! Take some time right now to check the operation of detectors and to change the batteries. If you have an older house with a limited number of smoke detectors, you really need to install some additional ones.

Battery-powered smoke detectors are inexpensive and very easy to install, so add one to each bedroom and make sure there is one centrally located on each level of the home as well.”

Speaking of detectors, it is also a good idea to install some carbon monoxide detectors (if you already haven’t) when you are checking on your smoke detectors.

Also, spring is not the only time for cleaning, fall is a great time to get things nice and clean for the cold months ahead.

“A surprising amount of dirt can accumulate inside your home's furnace ducts, which can decrease your furnace's efficiency and add unnecessary dust to the indoor air. Now is the time to have a professional duct cleaning service come out and take care of this for you.”

“Last winter your hardworking fireplace was building up a layer of soot and creosote and you've no doubt forgotten all about that during the summer. Before you light the first log, clean the fireplace chimney or wood stove flue using brushes approved for the size and type of flue you have, or consider hiring a chimney sweep to take care of this task for you - most do a great job at a very reasonable price.”

As for preparing the outside of your home, make sure you thoroughly check the weather stripping along all doors, windows or any other openings. This could actually end up saving you money.

“When you have gaps around doors, windows or other areas that penetrate the exterior of your home, you waste expensive heated air from inside as well as allow annoying drafts to keep you from feeling comfortable. Fall is the time to check the weather-stripping around doors and windows, and replace any that are worn.”

Following this checklist this fall will surely save you some un-wanted stress as well as valuable time and money this winter.

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