Preparing your home for the winter season can take a lot of time, but it is a task well worth your while if you want to avoid costly repairs in the following months. When it comes to home maintenance, simple tasks like making sure windows and doors are weatherized make a big difference in energy savings and comfort.
Our latest blog discussed common insurance claims we see during winter. In this blog, we'll discuss the four winter home maintenance tasks you must take care of before the holidays:Check furnace filters, boilers, & gas service lines
As winter approaches, you should make sure your fireplace and furnace are free of debris before you use your fireplace. Keeping these systems clean and in working order is important before using them as a safety precaution. You should also test your gas service lines annually for possible leaks and check if your boilers are working as intended.
Inspect insulation & weatherize water heaters
Insulation is essential for keeping your home comfortable year-round. Adding insulation to your attic, walls, and crawlspace can save money on heating costs. Prepare to insulate pipes in any unheated and drafty area of your home.
To inspect your insulation, you'll need to follow a few quick steps, and the process is different for an attic vs. a wall. If the insulation in your attic is level with or below the attic floor joists, you may need to add more insulation. For your walls, check the insulation in all the walls of your home, including old and new parts. Just because you find insulation in one wall doesn't mean that it's everywhere.
It's also a good idea to check the manufacturer's recommendations for your tanked and tankless water heaters before winter. Hardware and plumbing supply stores carry insulation to help keep pipes from freezing, so you should get all supplies now so that you are ready to wrap pipes and water heaters when a winter storm is approaching.
Test smoke alarms & carbon monoxide detectors
In the colder months of the year, when home fires occur most frequently, and when we turn up our heat, it is important to make sure that your smoke detectors are working and that they have fresh batteries. An HVAC inspection will also ensure that your furnace and water heater are properly vented and monitor your house's carbon monoxide levels.
If you plan to use a fireplace, wood stove, or kerosene heater, install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors near the area to be heated. Try to test them monthly and change batteries twice a year. To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, install working carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home and never use a generator indoors.
Gather supplies in case of emergency
Prepare for emergencies by keeping supplies on hand. As a general rule of thumb, it is suggested to have seven days worth of emergency supplies.
Having at least one gallon of water per person and pet in your household is a good idea. You should also have a basic first aid kit and backups of your most used items like batteries, chargers, personal documents, clothes, and car/house keys. You may even want to consider a back-up power source such as a generator.
Review your homeowner's insurance coverage
While reviewing your home insurance coverage might not be a home maintenance task, maintaining a home is a continuous process for all homeowners. Having homeowners insurance is an essential part of that maintenance, because it provides financial protection in the event of damage to your home from a natural disaster or other incident.
At the end of the day, protecting your home is a lot like protecting yourself: no matter how good it makes you feel, there's always room for improvement. If you haven't conducted a home insurance review recently, now is a great time to re-evaluate your coverage.
Learn more about our homeowner's insurance coverage options, or if you're ready to take the next step, contact us.
Some of this content was originally published on https://daigletravers.com/.
