Winter Weather Tips & Advice

Here we are again in the middle of another cold winter. Most likely we all could use a few winterization tips or reminders to help optomize our heating dollar. Following are some facts and tips to help you save money and prevent problems this winter.

1. Have your furnace serviced by a trained professional. They will check for problems, lubricate your motors and bearings, clean or change your air filters, check electrical connections for tightness, test for combustion leaks, inspect the flue, and make sure that all equipment is at optiomal efficency.

2. Install all foundation vent covers. This will help keep your crawlspace a couple degrees warmer and help prevent your water pipes from freezing.

3. Disconnect your hoses from the outdoor hose bibs.

4. Cover all hose bibs with insulating covers or wrap with insulation.

5. Have branches trimmed around your home to prevent snow and/or ice from building up on fragile branches and breaking off. This will help prevent any possible accidents of debri falling on people you love.

6. Clean your gutters. Clean gutters mean a minimal amount of water will be retained and possibly freeze.

7. Inspect your chimney as long as you are up on the roof cleaning your gutters. Chimneys should be cleaned every 2 years to prevent fires and optomize your home insurance policy.

8. Inspect the oudside of your windows and doors for pealing or cracked caulking. Damaged or worn caulking can cause leaking of air and/or water into your home robbing it of heat and longevity.

9. If you have a in ground watering system you should do the following: Turn off the supply line to the system, open the bleed valve and allow to drain off as much as possible, attach a compressed air line and proceed to open every station one at a time and blow out the water. This will help prevent damage from freezing lines and heads.

Fact #1 – It is a studied and shown fact that up to 40% of heating inefficencies are due to problems with windows and doors. Check for drafts by feeling around your windows and doors. Call us for advice for how to repair those problems.

Fact #2 – It is also a studied and shown fact that 20% of heating inefficencies are due to leaks around your electrical outlets and switches. Call us for advice on how to have this problem fixed.

Thank you for reading this small piece on how to save money heating your home and preventing problems from coming to you. For more advice on other tips on heating with wood, plumbing prevention and other winterization advice please visit us at HeatMyHome.com