When preparing your home for the winter months, one of your priorities will obviously be to check the heating in your home. You will want to make sure it is working efficiently, so you stay warm and don’t have excess heating bills to pay.
You will also need to check the roof, doors and windows to make sure cold air stays out and warm air stays in. Water damage can occur to your home in winter and you need to take steps to prevent this from happening.
1. Test your heating
Before the weather gets really cold, it’s important to check your heating system and see whether it is working properly. Electric heaters are more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than using wood-burning stoves or fireplaces.
If you already have radiators installed, you need to check them and see if they are functioning well. Some old-fashioned radiators are not energy-efficient and if you want to save on your heating bills, you may want to update them with more modern radiators.
Even if you can’t afford to update all your heating, if you use electric towel rails in your bathroom, you can ensure the temperature is comfortable when you undress and that you have warm, dry towels after bathing or showering. The latest electric towel rails from companies like Best Electric Radiators, Dimplex, and Climastar are innovative quality products using advanced technology to achieve energy efficiency.
2. Check your roof
The first step is to check your roofline and make sure there are no signs of curving, dipping or sagging. Heavy rain or snowfall could stress your roof and it could even cave in altogether if you don’t have it repaired before winter. It’s worth getting in a professional to take a look.
Roof tiles can easily become damaged throughout the year and cause leaks in winter. Chimney flashing is another place where leaks can easily develop. These problems must be fixed or they can be problematic in the winter months.
It is common for debris to accumulate in gutters during the autumn months and you need to clean it out to allow rainwater to flow off the roof. Trim off any branches that extend over your roof, too, or they could snap in winter during a storm and cause damage.
3. Check your windows and doors
Throughout the summer, you may have left your windows open to allow the cool air to come in. In the winter months, you don’t want any cold air to come in and you will want to keep your windows tightly closed. On examination, you may find that some catches or hinges aren’t working properly.
If cold draughts keep seeping in because they are broken or damaged, your radiator will have to work harder to heat up a room. Fix any catches or hinges that don’t work properly and use weather strips to take care of any gaps that can cause air leakage.
Draughts can also creep through gaps around and under doors, even cat or dog doors. Check all your doors and make sure they fit well. The chances are that if doors don’t open or close smoothly, there has been some warping and you may have to replace them.
If your garage shares a wall with your home, it is important to check your garage doors too. You need to make sure that any gaps around or under doors are properly sealed and there are many good products on the market you can use for sealing.
4. Take care of your pipes
As the cold weather sets in, water can freeze in pipes, especially outside pipes, and cause them to burst. Insulating them can reduce heating loss and prevent them from freezing and bursting. Insulating outside pipes is essential in areas that become extremely cold.
If pipes freeze and burst, this can cause damage to your home and you may even have the inconvenience of moving out while repairs are done. If you keep heating at a low level even when you’re not at your property, this can help to maintain a consistent temperature around any pipes. If your pipes do burst, you need to turn off your stopcock, which is usually located under the kitchen sink, as this limits any further damage.
