With winter quickly approaching, it’s essential that you winter proof and weatherize your home. Keep reading for 10 ways to winter-proof your home this summer.
Install Storm Doors
A storm door is a great idea to add an extra layer of protection to your home. By adding this extra door, you can secure more winter-proof during the harsh and cold winter months. These can be made from aluminum, wood or plastic and should be installed around your home’s entry points. Not only will storm doors keep your heat inside and reduce heating bills, but it will also keep the cold out.
Shut Off Your Outside Water Supply
Shutting off your outside water supply is essential to do before winter hits and the temperatures drop below freezing. That’s because water expands when it freezes and if there’s water trapped in your outside water supply, it can expand and cause the pipe to burst. If you’re ever had to deal with burst pipes before, you know it’s an expensive and frustrating situation to experience.
Trim Back Shrubs and Trees
Another important step that you should take to winter-proof your home is trim back any shrubs, trees or vegetation. You want to prune back the greenery so that nothing touches your walls because as things freeze if they freeze to your wall or scrape against it, serious damage can be called. Be sure to pick up a pair of clippers and some hedge trimmers and take the time to carefully trim back any shrubs or vegetation. In addition, you should also trim back trees that are overhanging your roof or touching the gutters. If there’s a there are storm and a tree branch snaps, you certainly don’t want it to fall on your roof!
Caulk Gaps Around Doors and Windows
Plugging your indoor gaps is also important to winter-proof your home. You want to keep the heat inside your home and the cold outside of your home and by caulking the gaps, utilizing spray foam or installing some weather stripping. To find the drafty areas, you can either use a specialized device that reads temperatures or you can hold a smoke pencil around doors and windows to see if the smoke blows away. Not only will this keep you warmer, but it will help you save on home heating bills all winter!
Winterize Your Lawn
When it comes to winterizing your home, your lawn certainly counts! If you want to have a nice slate to work with come spring, you’ll need to take a few steps to winterize your lawn before winter hits. The first step is to rake up leaves that are scattered on your lawn. Leaving these can cause significant damage to your lawn so it’s important to spend a few hours to rake up all of the leaves. The next step is to apply some winterizing fertilizer. This will provide the nutrients that your lawn needs to maintain during the winter so you don’t have to work as hard come spring.
Make or Buy a Draft Snake
Another way to winter-proof your home is either to make or DIY a draft snake. This is a cheap way to keep the cold at bay. These draft snakes slide under your door and prevent any drafts from coming in underneath. You can easily buy one of these draft guards, but you can also make them yourself with some sewing fabric and a bag of sand from Kurtz Bros., Inc.
Add Extra Insulation to Your Attic
We’re all aware that heat rises. That’s why the second story of your home is often hotter than your first floor. Well, if your second floor is hotter, can you imagine how hot your attic is? If you want to prevent the heat from rising and escaping into your attic or worse, out of the roof, consider adding extra insulation to your attic. By installing bales of insulation to your attic or even utilizing blown-in insulation, you can keep the heat in the living areas of your home and reduce your home heating bills.
Change the Direction of Your Ceiling Fan
Some people don’t know this, but ceiling fans actually have two directions. In the summer you want the fan moving in a counter-clockwise rotation to create a cool breeze and pull the cool air up. However, in the winter you should switch your fan to rotate in a clockwise motion because this will push the warm air down and distribute the heat more evenly.
Stock Up On Firewood if You Have a Wood Burning Fireplace
If you have a wood-burning fireplace, it’s also important to stock up on firewood. Contact Kurtz Bros., Inc. to order your cords of firewood and ensure that you’ll have everything you need to last all winter long.
Remove Your AC Window Units
Another important step to winterize your home is to remove any of your AC window units. Not only can leaving these window units in allow cold air to enter into the home, but the snow and ice can also damage your air conditioner unit, which means you will need to buy a new one come summer. Take these out and ensure that you caulk any gaps to keep the cold air out!
Turn to Kurtz Bros., Inc. for help winter-proofing your home this year!
If you are looking to weatherize and winter-proof your home, trust the experts at Kurtz Bros., Inc. to help! As a top landscape supply company, we have everything you need to weatherize your lawn, trim back shrubs, and rake up all of the leaves. From rakes and fertilizer to clippers and hedge trimmers, we have everything you need to get your lawn in tip-top shape before winter. Contact us today or stop in to pick up everything you need to weatherize your home, lawn, and landscaping.