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Tips for Winterizing Your Home

I know it’s only the second week of October, but it is time to start thinking about preparing your home for the cold months of winter.  (This means more than just buying some hot chocolate mix and pulling out Christmas lights!)  Here are few things that can be done around your home, to make sure that it is prepared!

Air Conditioner:

  • Make sure to cover the top! This keeps leaves out from inside of the unit where they can build up and also keeps snow off of the blades
  • The sides are not as important and the cover should not go all the way down to the ground.  Have it stop about 5 or 6 inches from the top, to allow air to come in and keep the unit dry
  • Shut the power off:  This can be done either by a breaker on the electrical panel or with the disconnect switch which is often located outside near the condensing unit (the “air conditioner”)

Furnace:

  • Get a furnace inspection!
  • Also, remember to change your filter about every month or so
  • Have your ducts cleaned (though this only needs to be done every few years) and check (if you can, or have a professional do it) to make sure there are no leaks where you could lose your nice warm air before it gets to you
  • enjoy the heat…

Chimney:

  • Make sure to keep the flue closed when you are not using the fireplace, this will keep drafts and cold air out-making your home warmer and heating bill lower.  (However, make sure that it is open when you are using it!)
  • If you do not have one already, see that there is a screen of some sort on top of your chimney to keep out birds etc…
  • It is not a bad idea to have your chimney inspected just to make sure there is nothing in there!
  • If you do not have a gas fireplace, make sure that you have wood!

Around the House

  • Insulation!  Adding insulation to your attic increases your home’s temperature
  • Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan to clockwise, this pushes warm air down
  • Insulate pipes-wrap them in foam to make sure they do not freeze and burst on really cold nights
  • Clean out gutters from all those leaves!  If they remain there, snow and water cannot drain properly which could lead to water entering your home

Just when you thought you may not have stuff to do around your house, you now have a whole ‘nother list of chores!  These are important to keeping your home warm and your equipment running properly in the cold months.  If you have any questions at all, you can Contact FLAME!

Also!  Check out FLAME’s Helpful video about winterizing your Air Conditioner! Click here!

Here are some other sites where I found much of my info about “Winterizing your Home”

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107899 “10 ways to winterize your home-now” -Christopher Solomon

http://homebuying.about.com/od/buyingahome/qt/92607_WinterHom.htm “Winterizing your Home:  Preparing your Home for Winter” -Elizabeth Weintraub

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