10 Tips for Winterizing Your Home

This week’s blog post comes from our good friends at AP Restoration! They’re here to help lower your bills with easy winter preparation!

1. Tune up Your Heating System: A technician can inspect your furnace or heat pump to ensure it achieves efficiency.

2. Reverse Your Ceiling Fans: Ensure your blades run clockwise to push warm air from the ceiling into the room. Just flip the switch!

3. Caulk Around Windows and Doors: Adding silicone caulk and weather-stripping around your windows and doors prevents cold air from getting into the cracks.

4. Clean the gutters: Damage or debris filled gutters will cause water to back up against the house and damage your home. Get them clean and avoid the expense of damage!

5. Restock your winter essentials: Don’t wait for the winter storm, stock up on essentials like salt ice-melt, and a good shovel!

6. Turn off exterior faucets: Undrained water in pipes can freeze, which will cause pipes to burst as the ice expands. Disconnect garden hoses and drain the water from those outside faucets. Older homes may need to access their shut-off valve.

7. Drain your lawn irrigation system: Call a professional to drain system pipes, as with spigots, to avoid freezing and leaks. Be sure to shut off the water line inside the home first, then close outside valves, drain the line, and leave it at a 45-degree angle to allow any excess water to escape.

9. Call a Chimney Sweep: Before you burn the Yule log, make sure your fireplace and other heating vents are clean and in good shape.

8. Test your sump pump: Slowly pour several gallons of water into the sump pit to see whether the pump turns on. You should do this every few months, but especially after a long dry season or before a rainy one.

10. Choose the right Contractor: You don’t have to do it all yourself! All Phase Restoration is ready to join forces with you to handle all your emergency mitigation, home improvement, and roofing needs. They are a BBB A+ rated company covering Northern Colorado, Denver Metro, and Southern Wyoming. Give them a call at 970.213.1900 or 303.682.0246.