Add These Items to Your Checklist When Winter-Proofing Your Home

Autumn is a beautiful time of the year when the leaves change color, and the air feels crisp, but it’s also a transitional season. Autumn’s changes mean that the white days and nights of snowy winter are coming.

And while the winters in Virginia don’t always have to be full of snowstorms that trap people in their homes, there are still some preparatory measures homeowners should think about making before this colder, less hospitable season arrives.

Make Sure Your Alarm Works

It’s a pretty small, easy to do task, but it may someday save your life. Check the alarms you have in your home for fire and carbon monoxide and make sure that they are working.

For people with newer models of alarms, this may not even be necessary, as these alarms will automatically tell you when the battery power is getting low.

For everyone else, run a quick test to make sure it’s still beeping and working. Now we’re getting into the winter season; you’ll be relying on your central heating on a daily basis.

The only way you’ll know if there’s a gas leak with carbon monoxide is if your alarm is working and it tells you. If you don’t take this precaution, you’ll never know just how much danger you and your household are in, as carbon monoxide is both colorless and odorless.

Stock Up On De-Icing Salt

Take pride in both your home and your neighborhood during the winter by making sure your part of the street is safe for everyone to walk on. De-icing salt is a great to efficiently ensure traction in front of your residence for a long period of time.

While there’s no substitute for a shovel during the heaviest snowfall, when things are lighter, salt is a good idea. De-icing salt, when sprinkled on a sidewalk, driveway, and even outdoor plumbing doesn’t just get rid of snow.

More importantly than that, it melts ice and keeps ice from reforming, regardless of whether the temperature is below the freezing point. That salt water film will remain on your sidewalk and keep it clear so that even light snowfalls won’t need to be shoveled by you. The salt will take care of it.

Maintain Your Insulation & Ventilation

This is very important for your comfort at home, especially if you’re interested in energy efficiency and want to keep your heating bills down.

If you’ve got a well-insulated home, just inspect what you can to make sure that none of it is damaged or needs repair.

If you don’t have a well-insulated home, start thinking about it! Insulated walls, new insulation in your roof, or even new windows can all decrease your heating bills every month!

In the same way, ventilation is another important aspect of heating efficiency. The vents in your home need to remain free from obstruction, but they should also not have anything forming inside them, like mold, which can then be distributed throughout the home, causing a health hazard for everyone inside.

Inspect your vents, or even have someone clean them to make sure your ventilation is still safe and efficient. Following these tips ensures that when winter finally arrives here in Winchester, VA, you’re already prepared to deal with it, and stay warm and safe during the season.