Winter weather comes with many challenges, so ensure your home is a warm sanctuary for your family. Our home maintenance tips for winter have you covered.
Winter is just around the corner, and this year looks like it has a rough season in store. With plummeting temperatures and plenty of snowstorms, it’s best to make sure your home is ready for winter well ahead of time. Otherwise, you could end up with seasonal issues that make your home uncomfortable at best and can do expensive damage to your home at worst.
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Have you taken all the steps you need to keep your home warm, cozy, and safe? Are you ready for winter, no matter what it has in store? Use our cleaning and home maintenance tips for winter as a starting guide to get your home winter ready this year. Then invite the whole family over for some festivities!
Protect Your Pipes From Freezing
One of the most important things to take care of as soon as the weather starts getting worse is to prevent damage to your home’s plumbing. Cold weather can cause the water in your pipes to freeze, potentially leading to burst pipes that will be expensive to fix. Be extra careful if your home has hard water. A whopping 85% of American homes have hard water — water that contains high levels of calcium and magnesium. These minerals can build up on the inside of pipes, meaning that the water in your pipes may actually be more likely to freeze. To prevent frozen pipes, use plenty of insulation, particularly in areas with more plumbing.
You should also prep the pipes outside of the home, especially if you have a pool. While your glass tile surfaces on your pool will last almost indefinitely, the pipes running to and from your pool need a little love and care before winter arrives. Be sure to protect all of your home’s pipes, even those that are often forgotten!
Help Your Home’s Heating
During the winter months, most households have higher energy bills due to the costs of heating an entire home. In an average home, heating and cooling make up 54% of annual utility bills, so increased demands on your furnace will lead to higher utility payments. However, your bills don’t have to skyrocket during the holiday season. Seal up gaps in doors and windows that can cause drafts to increase your heating system’s efficiency. Additionally, make sure you’re performing routine maintenance, like cleaning out filters. This makes your heating more efficient and helps you save money in the long term.
If you’re willing to spend a few more bucks on protecting your home, you can also update appliances with a home remodel. Up to two-thirds of homeowners are planning on renovating and many hope to invest in Energy Star-rated products that save more money in the long-run.
Keep It Clean
Finally, many homes can get significantly more dirty and gross during the winter season. With people tracking snow and mud inside, cleaning can be a bit of a challenge. Be sure to take care of your carpets. The fibers in carpeting tend to trap dirt and germs tracked in from outside. Only 55% of homeowners deep clean carpets as often as the EPA recommends. This winter, keep your home healthy and clean by taking care of your carpets and any other areas where the outdoors have been dragged in. You and your family will be less likely to catch the standard winter sniffles, and your home will generally feel cleaner.
The weather outside might be frightful, but the effects it has on your home don’t have to be. Use these home maintenance tips for winter to protect your home from the elements and keep things cozy inside. What maintenance do you still need to finish before winter starts? What would you recommend to other families looking to improve their home this winter?
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