How to Winterize Your Home

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When temperatures dip it's time to prepare your home for the upcoming cold season.  These tips are quick and affordable to complete. Learn how to save on home utilities and effort when it comes to winterizing your home.

How to Winterize Your Home

Keeping Drafts Out

Insulate Windows

A window insulation kit is an affordable and easy way to keep the drafts from coming in through your windows.  If you are unsure about having a window draft, try this tip.
  • Take a lit candle and move it around a window
  • If the flame moves, you have a drafty window.
By using your window insulation kit, in just minutes, you'll have an air tight seal that is easily disguised with its clear see through finish.

Add Weather Stripping

Drafty doors and garages are common places where heat can be exiting your home. Along with hollow outlets, Weather stripping is the perfect solution. Because weather stripping comes in a variety of options, make sure you talk to your neighborhood Ace to know what you are getting.

Think Energy Efficient 

Prepare Pipes and Water Heater For A Freeze

A home owners nightmare comes when frozen pipes make their way into their home. However, Pipe insulation is affordable and long lasting.  Add it on pipes near exterior walls to keep them from freezing this cold season.

Water Heater Blanket

Insulation blankets are designed for gas, oil, or electric water heaters up to 60 gallon size. It contains a roll of plastic tape that wraps your water heater in just minutes.  By insulating your water heater you help reduce water heater recovery time thus saving energy.

Help Your Furnace

Changing your ceiling fan to a run at a low speed in a clockwise direction will push the warm air down. Just remember to reverse the setting as warmer temperatures arrive in your home.  By adding a thermostat like a Nest, this enables your home to learn what temperatures you like. The  Nest Thermostat is capable of automatically turning itself down when you’re away to avoid heating or cooling an empty home.

Use Quality Air Filters

Your furnace will be putting in a lot of time during the winter.  Reward its handwork by using quality air filters and changing them frequently.  When using debris filled filters your furnace struggles to force out air, burdening the system to work harder.  

Preparing The Outdoors

Clear The Gutters

It's important to remove leaves, sticks, and debris from the gutters.  Failure to do so can cause build up of snow and ice in the gutter.  Ice dams are a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof. Adding gutter guards after they have been cleaned out will only help keep debris from collecting next year and years to come.

Put Your AC To Bed

Let your air conditioner be sealed up for the winter with an air conditioner cover. Adding this to your unit will help reduce maintenance costs.  Sealing out moisture is key to the life of your air conditioner.

Protect Outside Pipes

Be sure to remove the hose from your outside faucet before it freezes on.  Adding a spigot cover to the faucet will also protect it from freezing wind and chill. Plus all year long, they keep the outside air from leaking into your home. Adding gutter guards after they have been cleaned out will only help keep debris from collecting next year and years to come. Always follow manufacturer instructions before using any product.  For more tips and advice visit a neighborhood Ace or visit us online at acehardware.com Published: 1/30/2020