10 Ways to Winterize your Home

We can all benefit from taking some precautionary measures to get our homes ready for the cold weather. Taking care of your gutter system is our top recommendation. However, we want to share some additional tips on how to best winterize your home.

Tips On How To Winterize Your Home

The Exterior of Your Home

• Apply an insulation film on windows and doors to prevent drafts. Feeling drafts from your windows and doors is a sign of heat loss. No matter how high you make the heat, does it still feel cold? Applying a film covering, or bubble wrap on the windows and doors that cause drafts can significantly increase the warmth within your home by more than 50%. This in turn will also help to save on your energy bills. You can find very simple window insulation kits online, or create your own by using materials like bubble wrap.
• Make sure your gutters are flowing. Making sure that your gutters are working properly as you approach winter, as well as during winter, is extremely important. At the end of fall, after the leaves have fallen off of trees, get a thorough cleanings. Clogs in your gutters that haven’t been taken care prior to winter can cause problems. Therefore, the larger the chance of winter conditions damaging your gutter system. Installing a heated gutter system is a great way to prevent ice damming and icicles from forming on your gutter system, and the headaches that come with them.

Your Attic

• Make sure your attic and other areas prone to heat loss are properly insulated. Heat loss is one of the most common reasons for ice damming and increased energy bills. Less than antiquate insulation in your home in areas like the attic will cause your home to generally feel colder. You can have your home tested for heat loss.
• Trim nearby trees. Any big trees near your home will eventually be covered in snow and ice throughout the winter. This snow and ice will weigh down the branches and increase the potential for the branches to break and/or of avalanching snow from these trees. This could cause issues by landing on your home or other belongings like your cars.

Interior Tips

• Replace filers. If you have central air, these filters, as well as your heating system filters need to be changed. By doing so regularly it will increase longevity and efficiency. New filters are cheap and can pay off by again decreasing the price of your electricity bills.
• Remove any window air conditioning units. If you do not have central air conditioning and remove your ac wall units. There is a good chance that a draft is coming from the area of installation during the colder months. If removing the unit is not an option you may want to think about purchasing a tarp or cover for the units exterior.
• Install draft guards. It is also very possible that cold air is sneaking into your home underneath your doors. Draft guards that are placed between the floor and the door help to eliminate the heat loss associated with this draft.
• Seal any exterior cracks, exposures or openings. If you have little cracks, holes, or openings between your windows, door, shingles or any other area of the home, there is cold air sneaking through them. Make sure to caulk and/or seal any of these openings up to prevent heat loss. Be sure to also check the interior for any similar cracks or exposures.
• Change the direction of your ceiling fans. Changing the direction of your ceiling fan can actually help to keep your home warm. Flowing your ceiling fans in a clockwise direction will send warm air along the ceiling downwards to the floor. This is a very simple and free way to increase the temperatures in your home during the cold months.
• Wrap your pipes. This can help to not only reduce heat loss, but also increase the temperature of the water flowing through your pipes, which will allow you to decrease the heat on your boiler. This also helps to decrease the time it takes for your water to get hot, as well as, prevent your pipes from freezing during the harsher temperatures of winter.

There is still time to winterize your home! If your gutters are still in need of winterizing give The Brothers that just do Gutter a call and let us help to better prepare your home for the winter!