As we head into the heart of the winter season, you’ll want to be proactive about making sure you’re doing enough winter maintenance on your home. It’s important to get a head start on maintenance, especially if you live somewhere with intense winter weather, which can be harsh on the exterior of your home and can be capable of causing significant damage. Instead of spending a fortune later on a repair that you could’ve avoided, why not take some time to make a winter maintenance checklist and protect your home from unnecessary damage. If you’re unsure where to get started, let’s go over some tips for maintaining your home in the winter.
Exterior Maintenance and Weatherproofing
Both the interior and exterior of your home have winter maintenance needs, and it can be a good idea to get some advice for winterizing houses before you get started. A good place to begin with exterior maintenance is inspecting your gutters and drainage. Winter often brings increased rainfall, as well as snow in some areas, so you want to make sure your house is ready. Check for drainage issues around the house, especially in the basement and attic. Water damage to the foundation of your home can worsen quickly and be costly to repair, even more so with older homes. You should also test your sump pump before winter hits. It’s a major line of defense against condensation buildup, flooding, and drainage water, so you’ll want yours working heading into the winter. If you have window wells, you’ll also want to check them. If your window wells have liner failure you can get window well flooding, which can result in water damage to the foundation of your home.
All doors and windows should be weatherproofed prior to the winter season. Weatherproofing involves checking for structural integrity, ensuring proper insulation, and repairing or filling any gaps and crevices that might allow cold air or condensation to get in. You can use weatherstripping or caulk to seal up any problematic holes in your doors and windows. If you find a severe issue that minor repairs won’t address, you might want to consider replacing the entire door or window before the winter. Weatherproofing windows and doors can reduce your heating and cooling needs and lower your energy bill in addition to preparing you for the winter months.
Interior Maintenance
When making a list of maintenance priorities inside the home, ensuring that your electrical system and heating system are operating properly should be at the top of the list. An electrical maintenance tune-up is a quick and usually fairly inexpensive way to make sure you and your family won’t find yourselves suddenly in the dark. Depending on what type of heating system you have, the type of winter maintenance required may differ. If you use an HVAC, have a professional come and give it an inspection before it gets cold. Radiators will need to be bleed before the winter, which is fairly simple to do on your own. If your family likes using filtered water, winter can be a great time to sign up for a delivery drinking water from a company like Labrador Source. It can be a massive pain to get bottled water home in large qualities, not to mention dangerous when the weather is icy. Use a delivery service to get fresh, high-quality water brought straight to your door, all season long.
Making sure your cable and internet package is active and adequate for your needs is also a good idea heading into a season where you’ll be spending plenty of time indoors. Especially if you work from home, you’ll want access to reliable and functional WiFi all winter long. A speed comparison of WiFi vs. mobile data should be enough to make clear that you’ll want a good WiFi connection. While having access to mobile data is a great backup option or a solution for connectivity on-the-go, the reality is that nothing can replace a high-quality WiFi connection when it comes to delivering speed and performance for your online activities.
If you want to be smart about the investment you made in your home, it’s essential that you maintain it well. The winter months can be very hard on certain parts of your home, and the potential damage from extreme weather can be substantial and expensive to repair. The good news is that investing in winter maintenance will typically pay off when it comes to preventing damage, and the right weatherproofing can even reduce your energy bills. The type of winter maintenance you need can vary heavily depending on your location, the climate, and the type of home that you own, but no matter where you live, it’s always a smart idea to protect your property from avoidable seasonal damage.
