10 Ways to Get Your Home Ready for the Cold
Whether we want it to or not, the cold weather will soon be here to stay. We asked a few of our real estate agents for a tips to get your home or cabin ready for the cold weather and here’s what they had to say…
- We had a lot of significant storm events this past summer! Take a walk around your home or cabin and do one more check before winter to see if there’s any damaged siding, hanging branches, leaning trees or debris on your roof that needs to be removed.
- Check the silicone and seals around windows and doors. Window caulk & door seals don’t last forever. Removing and replacing old caulk can help prevent leaks and cold drafts. Same with damaged seals, in only costs a few dollars to replace the seals and it could save a lot on your heating bills!
- When the seasons change, so should your furnace filter. To keep your furnace running at peak efficiency install a new furnace filter before winter.
- Check your chimney! If you have a wood burning furnace or fireplace, always give your chimney a check for build up or critters that might have decided to call your chimney home.
- Unhook any garden hoses that are connected to outdoor water faucets to help prevent cracking or burst pipes.
- If you heat your home with LP, check your LP level in your tank. Nobody wants to run out when it’s below zero or pay an extra emergency fill charge!
- Test your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors and replace the batteries if you don’t know when they were replaced last.
- Check window locks. It’s nice to open the windows and let the summer breeze in your home, but did you remember to lock it when you shut it? Locking windows isn’t just for safety- it helps your windows seal tighter to keep the cold outside!
- Get ready for snow removal! …do you have a shovel? Is your snowblower ready to go? Do you have a plow company lined up? Having all of these things ready to go will make sitting inside your home watching the snow fall much less stressful!
- Have a stay at home plan. With the brutal cold temperatures last year, many schools and businesses were forced to close for a day or two. Have a few extra cans of soup on hand, batteries in flashlights, and extra gallon of gas in the garage for your generator, and anything else you might need to stay warm and safe at home on a snow day.
