A Handy Guide To Winter Home Maintenance
The winter season is one of the most important times of year to ensure that your home is in great shape, both inside and out. With colder temperatures on the way, it’s best to catch any issues before they snowball into bigger problems, causing damage to your home. Whether you’re in charge of maintaining your own home or you’re just trying to get through the season, this guide will help keep you on track and give you the tools you need for a smooth winter season.
Give Your HVAC A Check-Up
Make sure your heating and cooling systems are in good order by getting them checked once a year. Filters should be replaced every three months to ensure that dust particles and allergens don’t circulate through your HVAC system.
Watch For Pests
During colder months many seek refuge indoors. Keep an eye out for signs of insect or rodent activity (especially around basements, attics, roofs, garages, and outdoor toolsheds) and call for pest control at the first sign of infestation.
Prevent Burst Pipes
Freezing water inside pipes can cause them to burst in cold weather – causing costly damage to your home. To prevent freezing, maintain a minimum temperature indoors (especially in vacant or rarely used buildings), and insulate exposed pipes. Pay close attention to attics, garages, basements, or crawl spaces! Leaving a faucet dripping during particularly cold nights can also help relieve some pressure and avoid a burst pipe.
Reverse Ceiling Fans
One of our favorite tips is to reverse your ceiling fans when it’s cold outside. Running them in reverse pushes hot air down so that cool air circulates up and your rooms feel much warmer.
Inspect Water Heaters
A properly functioning water heater is one of your home’s most important appliances. If it starts to malfunction or starts to smell funny, get it checked immediately.
Check Building Exteriors
Do a thorough sweep of the whole exterior of your home, including gutters, foundations, walkways, doors, and windows. As you go through your checklist, look for water damage, damaged window or door frames, cracks in the foundation or walls, or window glass that needs repair.
Getting A Tree For Christmas? Bring It Home Safely!
Getting a tree home safely can be a little tricky! Fortunately, AAA has provided these tips to help you safely get your Christmas tree home this year:
1. Call the tree lot or check if they've posted information online about availability & COVID protocols.2. Bring strong rope or nylon ratchet straps, an old blanket, gloves, and the right vehicle. A roof rack is ideal, but a pickup truck, SUV, van, or minivan will work!3. Ask the lot to wrap your tree in netting, and secure loose branches with rope or twine before loading.4. Cover the roof of your vehicle with an old blanket to prevent scratches & damage.5. Load the tree on your roof rack or in the truck bed with the trunk facing the front of the car. NOTE:
If you don't have a roof rack or truck bed, you might try to tie the tree to your roof by running a rope through your open windows... but this not recommended because it's much harder to secure the tree well for transport. If you have an SUV or van large enough, your best bet is to put the tree inside or borrow a vehicle that does have a roof rack or truck bed.
6. Secure the tree at its bottom, center, and top using strong rope or nylon ratchet straps. (Avoid the twine offered by many tree lots.)7. Use fixed vehicle tie-down points and loop the rope or strap around the tree trunk above a branch to prevent side-to-side or front-to-rear movement.8. Once secured, give the tree a few strong pulls from different angles to make sure it is fixed in place and won't come loose while you drive.9. Drive slowly and take back roads home if you can. High speeds can damage your tree or cause it to wiggle free from its ties.
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