Winterize Your Home This Fall Season

| Wednesday, February 1, 2012
By Warren C Mahmood


Once you learn what spring cleaning signifies, it is likely you have some notion what it means to winterize your home. Fall means wintertime is around the corner, and you should use the opportunity to make sure that your house is ready for it. At this time of year, with the leaves dying out, examining the house is easier, so you can tell if any shrubs are hanging onto the house. Siding is quickly damaged by roots and vines that cling to the surface - even bricks aren't immune - and they should be cleaned off.

When they are no longer needed to do any watering, the garden hose should all be emptied and rolled up to be put into storage for the winter. The external faucets must have the water turned off, and then allowed to drain dry. Get your patio furniture cleaned up and stored in a place dry, once you are done using it till the following year.

Any young trees that you have planted, you should protect them with mulch, especially if it is their first winter. To help prevent your yard from becoming sodden if significant rains occur, make sure that any drainage ditches are clear.

Fireplaces pop into your head when the weather begins getting colder. Try to get your chimney swept soon enough, before the first cold spell, because that's typically when everyone wakes up and wants it done. If you are most likely to need firewood, search for a source and create a good stock early. When driving around rural areas, you may find local people who sell fire wood, without lots of advertising. If you make use of a fireplace during the winter, you should check all of your smoke alarms to make sure they are working.

Many people leave holiday lights up all year, and the cables should be checked for flexibility. If you are using storm windows, they should be set up. Weather-stripping gets dry with the scorching temperatures, so they could possibly all need to be replaced.

The windows are seldom opened in winter, therefore it is necessary to check the condition of the filters in the range hood. Check that the slope of the earth around your house will still allow water to flow away. Water bleeding out into the basement and the foundation can cause serious problems. To begin with it causes wet rot, which could change to dry rot after some time, which you sincerely want to do without. Make the attempt of examining, at regular time periods, that water is not seeping into your home.

It is apparently inevitable that water leaks come, and the most likely places are the roof, the gutter and down-spouts, and the inside plumbing. Set a priority to get any leaks you see fixed. Minimize a draft by safeguarding air-conditioning units, and consider wrapping exterior pipes, especially if the house is older. Your floor coverings may need to be shampooed to get rid of dust which in winter is readily noticed. Finish off by just cleaning the glass windows.




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