Learn How To Winterize Your Home

Well the seasons are changing and the kids are back in school. It’s the time of year when the evenings start getting cooler and we start thinking about the coming winter. With how everything has increased in price, it really should come as no surprise that home heating costs will skyrocket. Now is the time to start taking steps to winterize your home and get the most out of your heating dollar. Here are some tips on how to winterize your home for the coming season.

Take a walk around the inside of your house during a cool morning or evening. Pay close attention to doors and windows and feel for any drafts coming through. Start measuring where you find drafts and purchase the appropriate weather-stripping and install where necessary. Inspect the bottom sweep on your entrance doors as well. If you have storm doors and windows, now is the time to make sure you can get them closed and that they are working properly. Also, purchase electrical outlet safety covers for the house. You would be amazed at how that little fix can help save you money.

Walk around the outside of the house and inspect your siding. Make sure that you don’t have any cracks or loose pieces that would allow cold air to come in. This is a good time as well to close the foundation vents around the house. Most people forget about these all year long. If you look under the house, make sure that any electrical tape is plugged in to make sure your pipes do not freeze.

Change the filter in your heating /cooling system. A dirty filter will rob you of energy costs as it makes the unit work that much harder. I would suggest changing out the filter about every 60 days. If you have a fireplace, make sure you have the damper closed when it’s not in use. There is no sense in allowing all your heat to literally go up the chimney.

Take a moment and consider if there are any room in the house that you seldom use. Closing off rooms that are not used will save you money because you won’t be paying to heat them. Close the vents in the room as well.

I hope these few tips on how to winterize your home have helped. There are many other things you can do as well like hanging heavy curtains and getting those window films. How much you do now will determine how much money you can save this winter.