Guided by Eric Boll’s Pillar-to-Post home inspection website, Tracey Barrett of the FOCUS on NoVA Real Estate Team walks you through the top 10 things you should be doing to prepare your home for winter.
Top 10 Takeaway: Winter Prep Guide
- Winterize your hose bibs. Remove the hoses and store them inside. Shut off outdoor faucets and make sure exterior pipes are drained of water. Faucets and pipes can freeze and burst, causing leaks and potentially serious water damage.
- Clean your gutters: they need to be clear and drain properly. Overflowing gutters are common culprits for water intrusion into a house and ice damming in the attic. Consider installing leaf guards if needed.
- Redirect water away from your house: Extend downspouts to discharge water well away from the home (10 feet).
- Chimney inspections: clean your chimney, repair broken joints and cracks, check for the appropriate liners and caps. Dirty or obstructed fireplaces are dangerous and send smoke and toxic fumes back into your home. They are also a leading cause of house fires.
- Clear your walkways and stairs: Ensure they are free of uneven cracks, broken joints. Seal them and get them ready for snow shovels.
- Reduce Heating Costs: re-caulk around windows and doors and install storm windows as needed. Look for gaps where pipes enter the property and seal them up.
- Leaves: Use them for mulch! Mulch them up with your mower or leaf mulcher. A great way to restore nutrients to your lawn.
- Inspect your trees to make sure they are free of dangling or damaged limbs.
- Service your furnace, heat pump or boiler, don’t wait for a cold night for it to break. Check your humidifier to make sure it is functioning properly and the filter is changed.
- Test, repair and replace as needed your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
