10 Tips to Get Your Home Ready for Winter

Winter weather will be here before we know it, so here are a few simple suggestions for how to protect your home from the elements.

1. Inspect and clean the weep holes in your storm windows. You may also want to check your vinyl replacement windows as well, since they sometimes also have weep holes.
2. Clean your gutters and downspouts both before and after the leaves finish falling.
3. Double-check that the splash blocks at your home’s downspouts are pointed away from your house to prevent water from running inside.
4. Inspect your chimney for cracks—and consider hiring a professional to clean your chimney if you have a wood or gas-burning fireplace.
5. Make sure all debris is removed from your exterior stairwell or window well drains to prevent flooding.
6. Have your heating system serviced while the weather is mild so you’ll know you won’t have any problems once the weather turns colder.
7. Trim any tree limbs that may be in danger of breaking off in a heavy snow to avoid damage to your roof, car, or deck.
8. Trim any bushes along the side of your house to ensure they aren’t in contact with the wood trim of your home. This helps keeps moisture at bay and will reduce the acceleration of wood rot.
9. Replace the filter in your heating/cooling system, if you haven’t yet done so this month. Then make a schedule to ensure this process can easily be repeated each month.
10. Crank up your snow blower and generator now to make sure they will be ready to go when needed. It’s also a good idea to add fuel stabilizer to the gas to keep the fuel delivery system in your machines from clogging. (Note: this is also good to do for your summer outdoor equipment, like lawn mowers and weed-wackers!)

Once you have this list completed, you can settle in to enjoy a warm, relaxing, and worry-free winter.