Winter is on its way! That means cozying up inside, the holidays, and colder temperatures. These colder temperatures can impact the way your home functions during the winter season, so it’s a good idea to prepare your house and its systems for what’s to come. As your home inspectors, we have a few tips for getting your house ready for winter:
• As home inspectors, we see tons of homes with gutters completely clogged with debris. We can’t stress enough how important it is to clean out your gutters before winter arrives. This will keep water from settling at your foundation and damaging your property when those winter storms arrive.
• Did you know that winter is when the most house fires happen? Test your home’s smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Check to make sure all your detectors work and that they have good batteries. If you don’t have any carbon monoxide detectors, consider getting some.
• Perform a quick energy audit by checking all your door seals. You don’t want heated air escaping outside when you’re trying to keep your home warm. If you can see daylight streaming through the edges of your doors, it’s a good time to get these doors resealed.
• You won’t be using your sprinkler system or your pool much during the winter, so take time to shut them down at the beginning of this season. Drain your sprinkler lines and consider having a professional come in and close down your pool for the season.