As the cold chills of winter come roaring down from the frozen tundra of Canada, it is time to start making sure your house is winterized and ready for the cold weather. It is amazing how many things people tend to overlook when getting ready for winter and all of these tips could easily make the difference between an uneventful winter and a nightmare of a time when the weather turns cold.
Nobody expects you to turn your home into an Alaskan Fishing Lodge but some common sense tips can save you some aggravation.
Winterization Tips
Wrap your Hot Water Heater – This can save you hundreds of dollars over the course of a year and often the electric company will do it for you.
Drafts and Energy Leaks – Walk your home and feel around the bottoms of doors and windows. If you can feel a draft then that is money leaving your wallet daily. Door sweeps and window coverings can keep the warm air in and the cool air out.
Exterior Lighting – It gets dark much earlier so make sure your exterior lighting is in good shape and ready to show you the way.
Winterize your Car – Cold temperatures are brutal on an automobile. Check your windshield wash, wiper blades and antifreeze to make sure they are up to the task of the cold winter temperatures. You also want to make sure your tires are ready for snow or ice.
Swimming Pool – Make sure you have a swimming pool covers that is up to the snow, ice and temperatures. If you don’t then this could be an expensive and time sucking issue come spring as you clean and undo the damage done over the winter.
Shovel – Duh but make sure you have a shovel or the ability to clean and remove snow from your sidewalk. Also a great idea to make sure you have a scraper in your car and maybe even a bag of rock salt or sand as well. Winter is tough….unless you are ready for it.
So there you go, a short list of ideas that you may want to consider when getting ready for winter. Winter is tough but it’s far worse if you aren’t prepared for it and have the right tools or have done the right amount of preparation. So give it a whirl and enjoy the coming months.