3 Household Preparations To Withstand A Biting, Cold Winter

Photo by Jill Wellington: https://www.pexels.com/photo/snow-covered-house-and-trees-259583/

A cold winter can be hard on a household, and hard on us as people. If you live in a cold area, or you’re just experiencing harder winters than you’re used to as of late, it really does pay to prepare your home and make sure it’s ready for such conditions. After all, even more temperate areas can experience terrible frosts and record-breaking cold temperatures, and at that time, you’ll be frustrated if you left the household maintenance another year.

Don’t worry though, because you won’t need a full renovation just to stay warm. If you can nail the smaller and more common-sense applications, you should be able to stay toasty and avoid too much of the cost from running your heater 24/7. How you do this, of course, depends on the condition of your household.

In this post, we’ll discuss some of the best three preparations to make right now, before the biting weather really does start to show up. Without further ado, please consider:

Inspect Windows & Doors

Checking the seals on your windows and doors is always a first step. Little drafts can let a lot of cold air inside, which makes your heating system work much more and lets any heating seep out, which means you’re losing money hand over fist. You can feel around the frames for any cold spots to see if the seals are still in good condition. You could also try using some weather stripping or caulk to fill in any gaps you find. If it’s really needed, replacing the frames or the window fittings entirely may be needed, and it may even pay for itself considering the lost heating you would have had otherwise. Not to mention when the windows are shut you can keep the warm in, and the cold out. Definitely opt for double glazing at least if possible.

Clear Gutters

Autumn often causes debris, which means cleaning the leaves and gunk from your gutters and downspouts before the winter weather is a wise idea. You don’t want a thick mess of frozen leaves stuffing your spouts when it snows and the snow melts. That moisture can also back up under your roof shingles, leading to some pretty unsightly water damage inside the house. Just making sure that water can flow freely away from your home's foundation is a should help you prevent any damage and leaks which can let the freezing weather in, and as not all roofers work during the coldest months, might leave you out of luck.

Check Your Insulation

It’s wise to take a look at the insulation in your attic and crawl spaces. Proper insulation is what keeps the heat inside your home during the winter and holds the cold out, just as the window and door fittings and seals do. Moreover, we’d recommend checking for any signs of water damage that might require some roofing repair and insulation just in cases the attic isn’t as sealed and protected as you think it is. It’s good to know that now before a thick layer of snow and ice sits on top of it.

With this advice, we hope you can have a lovely warm winter as the colder weather rolls through.