Winterizing Your Home
Posted by Kati Tague on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 at 8:53 AM
By Kati Tague / January 22, 2014
1 Comment
Baby, it's COLD outside! There are so many things we hate about cold weather, one of them being the toll it takes on your home and your electric bill! While it is best to go through the winterization process in the fall, before it gets cold, there are still a few things you can do to prevent any major issues or high utility bills.
- Make sure to disconnect your garden hose from the faucet (turning off your main water supply and then turing on your outside faucet to let all remaining water out is an extra step you can take to protect your pipes).
- During times of really cold weather, make sure to leave the water running on any faucet that is on an non-interior or outside wall. A drip should be fine. It is also a good idea to open up the cabinets under the faucet, this allows a little extra heat into the area with the pipes.
- If you have large or drafty windows you can get thermal drapes or cover them with plastic.
- Reverse your ceiling fan to circulate warm air.
For a more in depth list of things you can do to winterize your home please click on the link below.
http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107899
Discussion
A home is an investment. Investments need to be taken care of. It is amazing to note that several techniques involving very little time and/or money can help save you TONS down the road.
I have a very good friend who was not aware of the helpful 'let the faucet drip in extreme cold weather' technique. Unfortunately, he came home from work 2 weeks ago to a busted pipe under his kitchen floor and as a result, is now in the middle of a very expensive remodel. Yuck! I can't exactly blame him though because I just learned that tip this year myself - thanks to great blogs/articles like this one.
The thermal drapes suggestion you mention is a great piece of advice as well but no one should discount how far the plastic covering will go! My fiance and I live in a very drafty home due to the abundance of windows. After the first couple winter storms rolled through this year, we were ready for a solution. We went to by the plastic covering but the stores were all sold out! We were too late! With this being a cheap option to save you tons of money, we now know its a good idea to buy this when it is not in high demand and keep it around for the cold winter months.
Lesson learned, money saved!
Excellent advice!
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