As the winter approaches, you should set some things in preparation. Before the weather turns cold and frosty, you should dot your “i” s and cross your “t” s to ensure you don’t face undue hardship when winter arrives.
Here are some tips to help you improve your living conditions before winter starts.
1. Inspect Your Home’s Heating and Air Conditioning Systems
Most people forget to carry out a maintenance check on their home’s heating and air conditioning systems before winter. Some wait until the dying minute before inspecting the systems for reasons best known to them. This isn’t a good idea, though. You wouldn’t want to be stuck at home for days in the middle of a harsh winter season without your home’s heating system function. But you’d be indirectly asking for that if you forgo inspecting and repairing or replacing your heater before the start of winter.
So, endeavor to have your heating system checked to be sure that it will serve your home when winter begins. If your heater or air conditioner seems faulty, you should have it fixed or replaced before winter because it could be hard to get a technician to come to check it when winter starts raging.
More so, if you plan on installing a new heat system, you should first weigh the pros and cons well when deciding between a PTAC heat pump vs electric heat. This will enable you to choose the right heat system that will serve you all through winter (and even winter seasons for years to come).
2. Check and Fix Your Windows and Doors
Whether your windows and doors are newly installed or not, you should check them to ensure that they can lock warmth in during the winter. You could check for yourself if there are air gaps within the door and window installations. If they exist, get them fixed as soon as possible.
You might also need to install foams or shrink wraps around the doors and windows to make your house warmer and more comfortable. Doing these by yourself might beyond your capacity so, if need be, you could have a carpenter over to carry out the appropriate operations.
Making sure your windows and doors meet the appropriate standards won’t only ensure that you remain warm during the winter, but it will also help reduce the amount you’d have spent on utilities. Besides, winterizing your windows and doors to increase their energy-efficiency would also increase the house’s value in the long run. So, it’s a win-win situation for you.
3. Top Up Your Oil or LPG Tank
If you live off mains, it’s crucial that you top up your oil or LPG tank and even store more than enough in preparation for winter. This is so you can avoid running out of oil while snowed in for days or even weeks. You shouldn’t only fill up your tank but have some stored away if what you need surpasses what you had estimated.
Storing up surplus before winter is in your best interest because you won’t need to start looking for where to buy oil during the coldest months when oil’s price goes up or becomes scarce. And since you can store oil for up to two years, you have nothing to worry about.
4. Protect Your Home from Critters
Humans aren’t the only ones that seek escape from the cold when the temperatures drop. As the warm season begins to fade away, critters and other wild animals usually try to seek shelter in the warmth of human homes. If they find your house easy access, they’ll definitely try to find their way in to keep warm.
The best way to keep these pests away from your home is by blocking all their entry points within your property. You should do that early before winter starts because waiting until then means you could already be living with them by the beginning of winter.
Asides from damaging your home and property, these critters could potentially affect your family’s health. So, check that your attic or basement is well-secured with no holes or open spots that can provide access to pests like squirrels, rats, and birds.
You can tack a screen behind your vent to prevent pests’ entry. You should also inspect your foundation for any cracks or gaps because critters have a deep liking for that particular entry point. Try to seal all cracks and trim trees close to your house. Clear all bushes around your house and keep your garden well-tended.
5. Check Your Roof to Have It Repaired or Replaced
You should have your building contractor check your roof to see if it’s okay as it is or needs repair. It’d be a big hassle for you to discover that your roof is damaged, probably leaking, during the winter. It’d also be hard for your carpenter to fix it by that time because of the harsh weather condition. More so, you’d have to battle water leaks until when the repair is made.
You can avoid this scenario by calling your building contractor to inspect your roof for maintenance, repair, or replacement. It’s important to carry out periodic maintenance checks on your roof to help you discover and tackle roof problems fast. Without fixing roofing issues early, the roof could deteriorate to a level that goes beyond repair.
Conclusion
From checking your heater to inspecting your roof down to blocking critter entries, there’s so much you’d need to do in preparing your house for the winter. They might seem like some hassle that you’d rather not deal with, but doing them would ensure that you enjoy a smooth winter.
