As the winter season is approaching, you need to prepare your home for its arrival. Your home is one of the huge investments you’ve had, so getting it equipped for the winter is important to avoid any home damage and repairs.  Winter season can be harsh and disastrous due to its extreme coldness. The damage that it could do can be very costly for homeowners. Thus, it’s always better to be ready than repairing too late. 

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to help get your home ready for the cold season. Read on below for home maintenance tips during winter:

1. Prepare your HVAC System

During the winter season, your heating system will be your best friend. It’ll help you and your household keep warm until the cold season is over. To make sure it’s efficiently working, check its PVC pipes for any debris or obstructions. See if your air filters are dusty and lumped with dirt. If so, keep it clean so that your HVAC won’t have to work thrice as hard in the winter and avoid any damage. If anything is not working anymore, have it replaced before the winter comes.

2. Weatherproof Your Exterior Pipes

Whether you have plastic or metal pipes in your home, they’re still bound to expand, crack, and burst if the water in them freezes. Thus, it’s important that you weatherproof your pipes, especially those that are exposed outdoors. You can refer to resources like the Sewer and Septic Service’s article about the proper ways of preventing frozen pipes in your house, regardless of which type of pipes you use. 

3. Inspect Your Doors and Windows For Leaks 

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean it’s expected that you feel a winter breeze coming into your house. If you feel any cold air seeping indoors, that’s a sign that either your door or windows have leaks. To avoid this, run through all your doors and windows for any cracks or poor sealing. If there are, seal them as soon as possible by filling them with caulk or adding weatherstripping. This way, you can save much on your energy bills as your heating system won’t have to work too much to fight off the leaking cool air.

4. Check Your Drainage and Gutter

In the winter season, it’s expected that rainfall will be more frequent too. So, you also have to be ready for this one. Have a thorough clean-up of your gutter to make sure it’s not clogged by leaves, debris, or other foreign objects that could block the flow of water. A clogged gutter can potentially cause overflowing, breakage, and strain on your roof. Moreover, it can also be filled with ice which will damage your drain and roofing system. Roof repairs can be very costly, so it’s better to prevent them.

5. Inspect Your Roof

Your roof is an important part of your home, especially during the winter season. It shelters you from the snow and other natural conditions outside. Thus, you must thoroughly inspect it for any potential damage like missing or cracked roof shingles. Then, contact your trusted roofing contractor and let the professionals do the necessary repairs. Additionally, you must also clear out your roof and gutter from any leaves or debris that has been collected up there. It’s also best to ask the contractor to install heated cables along your roof to prevent ice dams.

6. Schedule An Electrical Maintenance

The few winter months bring cold days and prolonged darkness. The last thing you’d want to experience during these longer nights is a failed electrical system. With that said, before winter season sets in, schedule your house for electrical maintenance. Keep in mind that this job requires a professional electrician, so make sure you hire one.

Let the electrician inspect your main service panel and breaker wires to see if there’s any sign of sparking, discoloration, or bad insulation. He’ll also check your electrical circuits, wall sockets, and your heating system. Once he spots any problem, let him fix it as soon as possible to make sure your electrical system is safe and sound for the winter.

Wrapping Up

With the maintenance tips mentioned above, you can see that there are numerous things to be done to make sure your home is ready for the winter. By following these tips, you can guarantee that you and your household will be comfortably warm inside without facing any unforeseen home issues.