Freezing temperatures impact not just how you feel when you’re outside but also your comfort level and safety inside your home. It’s essential, therefore, to protect your home from the onslaught by using these cold weather home tips.
Being prepared for any kind of increment weather is usually the smart way to stay ahead of the game. After all, getting in front of any severe weather situation is always better than trying to react to it at a moment’s notice. By being prepared, you can ensure that you have whatever is essential to survive and to comfortably make it through the challenging winter.
Start now to prepare for severe cold weather so that you can fortify your home against the cold.
By doing that, not only can you cut down your heating costs, but you can have your home ready to withstand the colder temperatures if the heat goes out.
Your home can have drafts that work against your heating system by allowing cold air in and letting the warm air escape.
Make sure that you fix these drafts before the extreme cold winter weather impacts your home.
⇒ The best way to fix drafts is by making sure you have good weather stripping.
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- Check each of the outer doors and all the windows of your home. One of the main signs that you need weather stripping or to replace what you do have is to check to see if you feel a draft.
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⇒ If you feel air around the frame of your doors or around the windows, then air is getting in so you’ll need to install weather stripping for the doors.
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- You might not be able to feel any air coming in, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not. You can hold a lit candle in front of each side, top and bottom of your window.
- If the flame flickers, that’s a sign you have a draft so you’ll need weather stripping for the windows. When glass panes on your windows or doors are foggy, that’s also a sign that they’re not properly sealed against the weather.
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⇒ If your heating bills are suddenly higher than they have been before, that can be a sign that your home isn’t weather sealed.
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- You can easily buy and install weather stripping yourself to protect against drafts and help keep your home warm for the winter weather events.
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⇒ You want to be able to safely use your fireplace in the winter. But you can’t just light a fire once winter hits without having prepared ahead of time.
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- Before you light the first fire, you need to have your chimney inspected.
- An inspection can prevent a fire by making sure that there’s no residue in the chimney.
- Keep the fireplace flue closed when you’re not using it.
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⇒ Make sure your home is safe by cleaning out your chimney.
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- Getting your chimney inspected and cleaned out can also help make sure that any obstructions are cleared away. Birds and even wasps sometimes build nests in chimneys. Anything that causes a blockage in the chimney can be dangerous.
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⇒ Before the onslaught of freezing temperatures, make sure that the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are working.
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- If you haven’t replaced your batteries before cold weather hits, then go ahead and do that.
- After you replace the batteries, perform an alarm test on each of the detectors that you have in your home.
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⇒ Keep your garage door closed to keep cold air out. It will also help to prevent your pipes from freezing if they’re constantly exposed to freezing temperatures.
Because extreme cold weather conditions can cause considerable risks to your home (frozen pipes, icy sidewalks, for example), you want to make sure you take all the precautions to minimize unnecessary expensive repairs as well as to protect you and your family’s safety.