Winters in Ohio can be long and harsh. If you aren’t ready, it can cause severe damage to your home and compromise your and your family’s safety. This is why it is crucial that before the cold arrives, you need to get your home ready for winter. There are easy steps you can take to winterize your home and ensure that damage is prevented or minimized at least.
Our goal is to help make your home winter-ready. We want to ensure that you are safe, warm, and protected from the bitter cold. So to help you to winterize your home, here are 8 simple steps you can take:
Inspect the Furnace
Before the winter season begins, have a HVAC contractor perform a routine inspection of your heating systems. They will check whether your boiler or furnace is running safely, they will vacuum the vents and other heating components, and they will check whether your furnace’s filter needs to be replaced. Ensuring that your HVAC is functioning properly will keep you warm throughout the cold season, in addition to other steps you can take to get your home ready for winter.
Insulate your Pipes
Frozen pipes are one of the most common problems during winter. They are most likely to form in unheated interior places such as your garage, attic, or basement. If you ignore this and let the water inside freeze, it can cause the pipe to burst when the temperature drops. Therefore, make sure to insulate your pipes, or you can also invest in some quality foam padding, heat tape, or heat cables to wrap around the pipes.
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Before the winter arrives, check your gutters and downspouts for any debris and leaves that might block the water flow. If they are clogged, water can back up and then freeze when temperatures drop causing ice dams. So to prevent this, keep your gutters and downspouts free and clear from debris like leaves and twigs.
Inspect and Clean Your Chimneys
If you have a chimney, have them examined and cleaned before each winter season. Sweeping your chimney will enhance its effectiveness by removing any potential blockages, such as nests or soot buildup before you start using your open fire or wood-burning stove. In addition, sweeping might also uncover any potential problems that you can address immediately before they worsen and cost you more money.
Shut Down Sprinkler System and Drain Outside Faucets
Remove any remaining water from an outside sprinkler system before the winter comes to prevent it from expanding and cracking the pipes. So turn off the water supply, and open the drain valves at the lowest point of the irrigation system to let the water drain. Or you can also hire an irrigation contractor to blow out the water using compressed air.
Recaulk Your Doors and Windows
The gaps between your doors and windows will allow the cold air to get inside your home, and the heat escapes from your home. To stop and prevent this, re-caulk your doors and windows before the winter arrives. This is an easy step to do since you can even do this yourself by using external silicone caulk to avoid shrinking and expanding as the seasons change since it is less susceptible to high temperatures.
Trim Surrounding Trees
Check the vicinity of your home for trees and branches that are growing over any power lines, or your garage, driveway, and home. Because once these branches are coated by the snow, if they are old or aren’t strong enough to hold the weight, they could fall on your home and cause significant damage. Breakage might also result from rubbing branches together. So make sure to trim those trees and branches to avoid this problem.
Inspect Your Roof
A roof inspection is one of the most important steps you can take to get your home ready for winter. Do a visual inspection of your roof to determine its integrity and whether or not it can withstand months of bitter cold. Make sure to also look for areas where the shingles are cracked, bent, or missing entirely. Also, check for loose screws and rusted panels because they can potentially cause leaks when the snow arrives.
If you found any significant roof problems, better fix them before the winter arrives. You can do the repairs yourself or you can also hire a professional roofing contractor to perform a more thorough roof inspection.
Elite Roofing will Get Your Home Ready for Winter
Elite Roofing is Ohio’s best roofing contractor. We bring only the finest roofing products and unmatched roofing skills that can help get your home ready for the winter. We are here to serve your roofing needs before roof damage leads to bigger problems. Winterize your roof with us. Call today and we’ll give you a free roof consultation!