A Guide to Winterizing Your Home

Have you heard of “winterizing your home?” Turns out, winterizing is actually a bit of a misnomer—even though it’s important to undergo this process during the winter, it’s best to start preparing your home in the fall months as temperatures begin to dip.

Simply put, winterizing your home entails preparing both the internal and external parts of your home for cold weather.This will help you save on energy costs, while keeping your property in tip-top shape.

We’ve compiled a few ways you can begin this all-important process of winterizing your home:

1. Seal Doors and Windows With Paint, Caulk, or Weather Stripping

Once it gets cold and wet, wood starts to rot, especially if you have older doors or windows. Take time to sand and paint chipped trim and caulk any broken seals where water can get behind siding, trim, or flashing. For doors or windows without great seals, add weather stripping. It will keep you more comfortable and save some money on your heating bill.

2. Inspect Your Roof, Attic, and Gutters

Take a look at your roof (or hire a trusted vendor) to see if there are missing/broken shingles, loose debris, or any sort of deterioration. Snow, rain, and ice can cause lots of damage and you want to be sure your roof is in good shape going into these colder months. On top of that, don’t forget to check your attic for any damage and replace any insulation to keep your home warm. For your gutters, you may want to regularly clean out the leaves and debris, or install a gutter guard to cut down the cleaning you’ll have to do.

3. Change Your Furnace Filter

Your furnace will function much more efficiently with a clean filter, which should allow you to cut down on your energy costs when it’s working overtime in the cold months. Your HVAC is going to be keeping you warm all winter, so it may make sense to schedule an appointment now to have it serviced. Plenty of folks will be looking to get their HVAC serviced during the height of the winter months, so doing so now may save you time and headache down the road.

4. Protect Your Pipes

The last thing you want is to see your pipes burst this winter, so be sure to (1) know the location of your water shutoff just in case, (2) drain/shut off the water to your garden hose or sprinkler system, and (3) insulate pipes in areas that are unheated. Add water sensors in areas that are susceptible to leaking or freezing. Here are Tim’s favorite Wifi water sensors