5 Tips For Winterizing Your Home

Winterizing your home can feel like a daunting task, no matter whether you've handled it before or not. There's a lot involved in making sure your pipes are safe, that your house is insulated, or even that you have the tools you need to take care of these things!

If it all sounds like too much, take a breath and relax. We're here with 5 tips that can go a long way in making the process of winterizing your home a little easier.

Insulate Your Pipes: Extreme cold can put a lot of strain on pipes. It can freeze your pipes, which can lead to bursting and extensive water damage. Protect your pipes from the effects of the cold by covering them with pipe insulators. This will keep your pipes from freezing up, allowing water to flow like normal.

Caulk Drafty Spots in Your Windows: Feeling drafty spots near your windows? This could mean that the caulk you've applied in the past around the perimeters has dried up and cracked off, or it could mean you need to apply your first strips. Caulking around your windows can minimize or eliminate drafty spots, helping your home stay nice and warm.

Reverse Your Ceiling Fans: Heat rises, cold falls. If your ceiling fans are running like normal, they're pulling all the warm air floating around your home to the ceiling. This means that cold air is circulating, turning your house into a giant cooler. Bring that warm air down by reversing your ceiling fan. All it takes is the flip of a switch, and your ceiling fan can help you and the family keep warm and toasty!  

Clear Out Your Gutters: Look, no one likes cleaning their gutters. It's a boring, dirty task that feels like it drags on and on. However, if you just let gunk pile up through the year, any ice and snow will pile on top of it. This could lead to broken gutters and other damage. Before winter finally settles in, take a moment to get outside and clean your gutters. When all is said and done, you'll be glad you did.

Check the State of Your Insulation: This is a step you may need to call an expert out for, but it's vital to home winterization. Your insulation could be fine, but you never know unless you check. Outdated, worn-out insulation will turn your house from warm to chilly in no time flat. If your insulation isn't up to par, and isn't doing much to help regulate the temps in your home, it's time to replace it.