Weatherize Your Home for Winter!
While the Twin Cities enjoys a short engagement with sun and high 60s, we all know it’s not going to last and the snow is not that far off. Now is the perfect time to get those pre-winter chores done! Here’s a quick checklist to get you started:
- Check out your attic and crawl spaces to avoid frozen and burst pipes this winter. Look for gaps in insulation that can expose pipes to cold air.
- An annual checkup by a licensed technician is a must to ensure your heating system is in tip top shape for the cold months ahead. Don’t risk a carbon monoxide leak!
- Check around all your doors, windows and baseboards, and fill any gaps with weather stripping and caulk to control heat loss.
- If you can’t replace your old inefficient doors and windows, make sure to install storm doors and windows. You might want to add window film too. This will improve energy-efficiency and keep drafts at bay.
- If you have a wood burning fireplace or stove, make sure to get your chimneys cleaned by an experienced chimney sweep to prevent the risk of a fire from buildup or blockages. If you use gas appliances, get them checked when you call the technician to examine your furnace.
- A good trick to keep door locks from freezing and sticking is to spray them with powdered-graphite lubricant.
- Don’t turn off the ceiling fan, find the button that lets you change the rotation to clockwise. This forces rising warm air back towards the floor.
For more information and tips to keep your home working right all year round, check out the links at our Home Maintenance Resource Information.