Darker and chillier days just make you want to curl up with a cozy blanket. But you might want to roll up those sleeves and finish this home maintenance checklist first so that you can stay both cozy and stress-free this winter! Here are our top winter home maintenance tips that keep your home warm, energy-efficient, and safe throughout the chilly season.
Winter Home Maintenance Checklist
These 7 winter home maintenance tips are great to follow to get your house ready for the winter.
- Reverse your ceiling fan rotation to create a warmer feeling
- Clear out your gutters and check on your roof to prevent water damage
- Seal up your home to prevent air leakage
- Get your sump pump checked
- Make sure your chimney and fireplace are clean and strong
- Replace batteries and test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
- Get professional inspection and maintenance on your heating appliances
1. Reverse The Ceiling Fan
According to ENERGY STAR, having your ceiling fans move clockwise forms an updraft, moving rising warm air downwards. Try it! It may create a warmer feeling in your room so you won’t feel the need to set the thermostat as high.
2. Prevent Water Damage By Maintaining Gutters & Roof
Before it gets too cold, it’s important to prevent winter issues by maintaining your gutters and roof. Make any necessary roof fixes and clear the gunk and debris from your gutters. This will prevent things like ice damming, which hinders your gutters’ ability to direct water away and leads to water damage in the home.
Whether you want to roll up your sleeves or call a professional, make sure those gutters are clear at least twice a year.
3. Save Money By Sealing Up Windows and Doors
Your home has small gaps in various places that allow air to escape. You’ll find most of them around your doors and windows, which leak up to 33% of a home’s heat on average. Aside from just sealing up doors and windows, keep an eye out for baseboards, outlets, and hatches as well.
By sealing up your windows and doors with some caulk, your annual heating and cooling expenses may be reduced by 10% to 20%. Another method to stop air leaks is to weatherstrip your windows and/or doors. Weather-stripping materials come in a variety of forms, including felt and metal. Your annual energy expenditures may drop by 5–10% if you install weather stripping around your windows.
4. Test The Sump Pump
Your sump pump directs draining water around your home away from its foundation. It’s a crucial factor in preventing water damage to your foundation. Make sure your sump pump is in great shape by doing some simple maintenance and testing yourself according to its manual. Additionally, have an expert take a look to ensure you’re going to be in good shape despite all of winter’s precipitation.
5. Keep The Chimney and Fireplace Safe
A chimney and fireplace are important to keep in good shape. Chimneys and fireplaces in bad condition can spell out a lot of danger for your home. Have a professional chimney sweep clean and examine your fireplace and chimney. On top of this, it’s crucial to make sure your chimney liner is in good shape.
6. Test Alarms and Replace Batteries
With the increased use of heating appliances that use lots of electricity, gas, or fire, it’s important to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly so you can be safe. Make sure to check and replace the batteries so your alarms last all winter long. Test the alarms according to the manual for each device to ensure the alarm will sound in the event of an emergency.
7. Professionally Maintain Your Heating Appliances
If you want your heating equipment to last, keep it clean in between professional services. The simplest way to accomplish this is to routinely inspect and change your filter. Understand the needs for your model and determine if you need a quick tidy up or a full substitution of the filters.
Prior to each winter’s peak usage, it’s crucial to have a professional inspect your heating system. HVAC experts advise having your heating system inspected once a year to guarantee that it operates efficiently and saves you money on maintenance and replacement costs. Never delay getting an expert to check your system because doing so can stop issues in their tracks!
We at Live Free Heating Cooling Electric offer high-quality 15-point maintenance checks in the NH area. Contact us right away for a free quote!
Winter Home Maintenance Tips For Staying Warm And Saving Money
Along with this winter home maintenance checklist, here are some bonus tips that can help you stay cozy and energy-efficient:
- Establish some good thermostat habits or get a smart thermostat.The optimal setting for your thermostat in the wintertime is 68 degrees. If you lower the temperature by 10 degrees at night, you can save your heating expenses by up to 10%. If you also lower the thermostat by 10 degrees during the eight hours each day when your home might be empty, your energy expenditures will drop by another 10% all year round. All of these tasks can be carried out automatically by a smart thermostat.
- Don’t forget about water temperature – that can also help you save a dramatic amount. Doing your washing in cold water and gradually lowering the water heater’s temperature setting in the shower will help you save money. It is possible to save up to $400 annually by decreasing it to 120 degrees (instead of 140) with hardly any difference comfort-wise.
- Close the curtains when it’s gloomy or dark. This can help insulate your rooms from outdoor air. You can avoid losing upwards of 10% of a room’s warmth by doing this. You can raise this amount by 25% by hanging your curtains flush with the window. When the sun is shining, however, you should open your blinds and let it shine and warm the room. On cloudy days, at night, or in darker spaces, keep them closed.