6 Winterizing Tasks for Your Windows

Leaves falling off the trees is the signal for many of us to start preparing our homes for winter. Along with cleaning out the rain gutters, having the fireplace and furnace serviced, and our sprinkler systems flushed out for the winter, winterizing our windows should also be on our checklist of fall tasks.

Winterizing the windows at our house is an easy Saturday task. Here’s how it’s done:

Removing screens. We have wooden screens which are removed during the winter to prevent water damage. The screens are washed, air dried, and then moved into the barn for the winter. Even if you don’t have wood wrapped screens, it’s a good idea to take them off during the winter and early spring. This allows winter precipitation to drain off the window sills instead of pooling where they can cause the sills to warp.

Washing windows. Freezing temperatures makes it impossible to wash your windows during the cold winter months. We tackle this task in the fall so that the windows are clean for company and provide a clean surface for adding energy saving features.

Reinstalling storm windows. We have over 56 windows in our home which are slowly being replaced with wood wrapped windows as we can afford it. Where the old single pane sash windows are still intact, we rehang our aluminum storm windows to provide us with a little extra insulation during the winter months.

Caulk where needed. Open gaps around the window frame can lead to draftiness inside our homes. Winterizing our windows also includes using a bit of caulk to seal interior gaps around the frames. We use a high quality acrylic latex caulk which can be painted over so the caulk will blend in with the walls.

Reglaze old windows. Those of us with really old houses probably still have old fashioned windows that are held in place with glazing computing which is a putty like substance. We check the few areas left in our home with those old time windows (such as basements and attics) and reglaze where needed.

Install insulating film to the windows. I’m not a fan of anything that covers up the windows during the winter, however, in rooms that are huge energy drains, we’ll install insulating film over the windows. Insulating film resembles a sort of shrink wrap plastic which is stuck to the windows and then heated with a blow dryer. This product works well on single pane windows and is quite effective in reducing heat loss.

More by this contributor:
5 home repair strategies that won’t strain your budget.
Rooftop maintenance tasks for the homeowner.
Is my fireplace safe to use?

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