How to Prepare Your House for Winter

Clean Your Gutters

It’s always a good idea to clean your gutters in the fall. When your gutters fill up with leaves and other debris, they may start to overflow, which means they won’t be doing their job. Water flowing over the edge and not using a downspout will go right next to your foundation; you want the water to drain at least five feet from your foundation to help prevent erosion. Another big reason to clean out your gutters is to prevent ice dams. Ice dams are formed when water backs up and freezes near the edge of your roof. The ice continues to build and eventually blocks melting snow from running off your roof. With these dams in place, the water has nowhere to go and begins forming pools under your shingles. The longer these pools are there, the likely they are going to start leaking into your house and causing water damage. When you are cleaning your gutters, make sure they are securely fastened and not coming loose; the weight of snow and ice can easily pull them down.

Inspect Your Roof

Visually inspect your roof for missing or damaged shingles. It’s better to get these replaced now than when you have a leak coming from a pile of melting snow. You should also check for damaged or deteriorating flashing around chimneys, skylights, ventilation pipes, and any walls that butt together.

Check Your Alarms

Make sure your fire and carbon monoxide detectors are working correctly; replace the batteries if needed. This is a very quick, but important check. Many people are more likely to have a fire going or a heating running during the winter, which makes it that much more important. If you have an older smoke alarm, check it with actual smoke from time-to-time. You can blow a candle out and let that smoke go right into the alarm.

Protect Your Pipes

Make sure to shut off the water to your outdoor faucets at the shutoff valve, often located inside the house. After the water is off, make sure to open the faucet and let the remaining water drain out so it does not freeze in your pipes. You could also consider installing a freeze-proof faucet or covering your current one with a styrofoam cover, depending on how cold your winters get. If you haven’t done so already, disconnect all hoses, drain the remaining water out, and store them for the winter.
Check for un-insulated pipes in crawlspaces or garages. Wrap the pipes in foam rubber sleeves or fiberglass insulation. During extreme cold spells, consider leaving a trickle of water flowing through faucets that use pipes running through unheated spaces, such crawl spaces. For an added precaution, leave your cabinet doors open to help circulate warm air around the pipes.

Reduce Air Drafts

You can lose more heat through drafts than you might think. According to the Energy department, “The potential energy savings from reducing drafts in a home may range from 5% to 30% per year.” You can hire a profession to come in check for drafts or they make draft/leak detectors, but you could also use a lit incense stick or candle to help you identify drafty areas. Walk around the house on a windy day; if you notice the smoke blowing or flame flickering, you know you found a problem area. Air leaks are commonly found around electrical outlets, switch plates, door and window frames, electrical and gas service entrances, baseboards, weather stripping around doors, fireplace dampers, attic hatches, wall- or window-mounted air conditioners, cable TV and phone lines, where dryer vents pass through walls, exhaust vents and fans, gaps around pipes and wires, foundation seals, and mail slots. Use door sweeps, draft snakes, or just a rolled up bath towel across the bottom of exterior doors. For windows, use caulk or weather stripping; use caulk on stationary items like windows you cannot open and weather stripping around doors and windows that you can open. Outlet gaskets or foam-insulating sheets can be installed in electrical outlets on exterior walls to prevent drafts from coming in.

Check Your Insulation

You should have a minimum of 12 inches of insulation in your attic. Although insulation is a little expensive, you will get a good return on your investment with the money you save in lost heat. If you are adding to existing insulation, don’t use the kind with a paper backing. The paper prevents moisture from escaping and can cause bigger problems for you in the future.

Doors and Windows

Replace screens with storm doors and windows. Now is the time to get your screen doors and window screens out and your storm doors and windows put back in before it gets really cold. Federal tax credits may be available to help offset the cost of purchasing storm doors and windows. Check with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for current tax credits. Even if you don’t have a storm window to put in, it’s a good idea to remove your screens during the winter to prevent them from being damaged by snow or ice. It’s also a good practice to check wooden door and window frames for rot or decay and repair or replace as needed.

Heating and Cooling

Winterize your air conditioner. Remove window units or cover them with an insulated liner to prevent drafts. If you have central air, drain the pipes or hoses coming out of the unit. You can also place a cover over the central air unit to keep out snow and ice.

Reverse the ceiling fan. Most people don’t know there is a switch on your ceiling fan to change the direction the blades rotate. During winter months, your fan blades should turn clockwise to help recirculate the warm air better.

Inspect your furnace. It’s a good idea to have your furnace cleaned and tuned annually. If you do not plan on having it inspected, it’s still a good idea to turn on your furnace before it starts getting too cold, just to make sure everything appears to be in working order. An odd odor is sometimes common when running it for the first time, but it should quickly go away. Check the furnace filters monthly and replace them as needed. A dirty filter restricts air flow, reduces the efficiency of your furnace, and can even result in a fire in extreme cases. Consider replacing your disposable filters with reusable electrostatic or electronic ones that can be washed and reused. Even if your furnace is working correctly, it doesn’t do it’s job as well if there is nowhere for the air to go. You can help it along by making sure your furniture is not blocking any heating vents. Wrap and insulate heating ducts in the basement or crawl space to help prevent losing your heat before it even gets in the house. If you notice any leaking ducts, use a sealant to plug them. If you have an older thermostat, replace it with a newer programmable one to help cut back on your heating bills.

Inspect your chimney. Although your chimney may not need cleaned every year, it is recommended you have it inspected annually before you start your first fire. A chimney inspection can be useful to not only check for build-up on your chimney walls, but also for other obstructions such as bird nests. The structure of your chimney itself can be checked during this inspection as well. Creosote can build up in your chimney and cause a fire, but it can also be harmful to the mortar and metal. If you don’t have a protective cap for your chimney that has a screen, you should look into getting one. This can keep out birds and other objects that shouldn’t be there, as well as rain and snow that can mix with ash and eat away at your fireplace walls. When you are not using your fireplace, make sure you keep the damper closed to prevent as much of a draft from coming in as you can. If you do not use your fireplace, or don’t use it very often, you could look into a chimney balloon. These devices inflate to help plug up the opening and prevent your hot air from escaping through the chimney.

Have a Back-up Plan

Although winterizing your home is a great step towards being prepared for winter, there is no telling when a major storm will hit. It’s always good to have enough food and supplies to last at least a few days during the winter in case you get stranded at home – and don’t forget food, water, and other basic necessities.