How to Winterize Your Home: A Homeowner’s Guide

As the seasons change and a chill enters the air, our homes become our sanctuaries from the cold. Ensuring your property is prepared for winter is one of the most important responsibilities of homeownership. Taking proactive steps not only protects your home from potential damage but also enhances comfort and can lead to significant savings on energy bills. This guide offers practical, step-by-step advice to teach you how to winterize your home effectively.

Seal Drafts and Stop Heat Loss

One of the most effective ways to winterize is to find and seal air leaks. Drafts can make your home feel chilly even when the heat is on, causing your heating system to run constantly.

How to Find Air Leaks

A simple way to detect drafts is the incense test. On a windy day, carefully hold a lit stick of incense near common sources of leaks, such as windows, doors, electrical outlets, and areas where plumbing enters the home. If the smoke wavers or is drawn in a specific direction, you’ve found a leak. If you don’t have any incense easily accessible, don’t worry! Check out this link for other options.

Common culprits for air leaks include:

• • Window frames and sashes

• • Door frames, especially under the threshold

• • Attic hatches

• • Fireplace dampers

• • Where siding meets the chimney

Sealing Solutions

Once you’ve identified the leaks, sealing them is a straightforward and affordable task.

• • Caulking: Use caulk to seal gaps and cracks around stationary window and door frames. It’s a flexible, waterproof solution that effectively blocks airflow.

• • Weatherstripping: Apply weatherstripping to moving parts, such as the operable sections of windows and doors. This creates a tight seal when they are closed.

• • Door Sweeps: Install a sweep on the bottom of exterior doors to block cold air from entering underneath.

• • Window Insulation Film: Applying plastic film kits to your windows creates an additional layer of insulation, reducing heat transfer. This is a low-cost, high-impact solution for older or single-pane windows.

Boost Your Home’s Insulation

Insulation is your home’s primary defense against the cold, working to keep warm air in and cold air out. An under-insulated home loses a significant amount of heat through its walls, attic, and floors.

Checking Your Attic Insulation

The attic is a major source of heat loss. To check your insulation levels, look across the attic floor. If you can see the tops of your floor joists, you likely need more insulation. The recommended depth can vary by climate, but a common target is 12 to 15 inches of fiberglass or cellulose insulation. For more information on attic insulation, please click here.

Insulating Other Key Areas

Don’t forget about other spaces that can contribute to heat loss:

• • Crawl Spaces and Basements: Insulate the walls of unfinished basements and the ceilings of crawl spaces to prevent cold air from rising into your living areas.

• • Outlets and Switch Plates: You might be surprised how much cold air can enter through electrical outlets on exterior walls. Simple foam gaskets, available at any hardware store, can be installed behind the faceplates to block these small but mighty drafts.

Prepare Your Heating System

Your furnace or boiler is the heart of your home’s comfort system in winter. Ensuring it runs safely and efficiently is crucial. An annual check-up can prevent unexpected breakdowns on the coldest days of the year.

Schedule a Professional Tune-Up

We recommend having a qualified HVAC technician inspect your heating system each fall. During a tune-up, the technician will likely:

• • Clean and inspect all components for wear and tear.

• • Check for carbon monoxide leaks, a critical safety measure.

• • Test system controls to ensure proper operation.

• • Lubricate moving parts to reduce friction and improve efficiency.

Perform Simple DIY Maintenance

In addition to a professional inspection, you can take a few steps yourself:

• • Change Your Air Filter: A dirty filter restricts airflow, forcing your system to work harder and use more energy. Replace your furnace filter at least once every three months, or more often if you have pets or allergies.

• • Clean Your Vents: Make sure your heating vents are clean and unobstructed by furniture, rugs, or curtains to allow for proper air circulation throughout your home.

Protect Your Plumbing from Freezing

A burst pipe is one of the most destructive and expensive problems a homeowner can face. When water freezes, it expands, putting immense pressure on pipes until they rupture. Protecting your plumbing is a non-negotiable part of winterizing.

Insulate Exposed Pipes

Any pipes located in unheated areas of your home are at risk. This includes pipes in the attic, crawl space, basement, garage, or along exterior walls.

• • Use foam pipe sleeves or heat tape to insulate these vulnerable pipes. Both are inexpensive and easy to install.

• • Pay special attention to where pipes enter your home from the outside.

Prepare Spickets, Faucets, and Hoses

• • Disconnect Garden Hoses: Drain all water from your garden hoses, roll them up, and store them indoors.

• • Insulate Outdoor Spickets: Protect outdoor water spickets from freezing during the colder months by using insulated covers or foam protectors. For spickets that extend from the ground rather than the house, wrap them with old towels and place a bucket over the top for added insulation.
  • Drip Indoor Faucets: On especially cold nights, allow indoor spickets to drip slowly. This keeps water moving through the pipes, reducing the risk of freezing and pipe bursts. For faucets along an outside wall, open cabinet doors beneath them to allow warmer air to circulate around the pipes.

Final Checks for a Secure Winter

With the major tasks completed, a final walkthrough can help you catch anything you might have missed.

• • Clean Gutters: Clogged gutters can lead to ice dams, where melting snow refreezes at the edge of your roof. This can cause water to back up under your shingles, leading to leaks and significant water damage.

• • Check Your Roof: Look for any damaged or missing shingles that could allow water to enter your attic.

• • Trim Tree Branches: Cut back any branches hanging over your roof or power lines to prevent them from breaking under the weight of ice or snow and causing damage.

By learning how to winterize your home now, you reduce the risk of damage, ensure your family’s comfort, and manage your energy costs throughout the winter.

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