WINTERIZE YOUR HOME
You'll get a season's worth of savings and peace of mind by
taking a few steps in the fall to get your home ready for cold
weather.
So you've pulled your sweaters out of mothballs and found your
mittens at the bottom of the coat closet. But what about your
house -- is it prepared for the cold months ahead?
You'll be a lot less comfortable in the coming months if you
haven't girded Home Sweet Home for Old Man Winter.
With the help of several experts, we've boiled down your autumn
to-do list to 10 easy tips:
1. Clean those gutters
Once the leaves fall, remove them and other debris from your
home's gutters -- by hand, by scraper or spatula, and finally by
a good hose rinse -- so that winter's rain and melting snow can
drain. Clogged drains can form ice dams, in which water backs
up, freezes and causes water to seep into the house.
As you're hosing out your gutters, look for leaks and misaligned
pipes. Also, make sure the downspouts are carrying water away
from the house's foundation, where it could cause flooding or
other water damage.
The rule of thumb is that water should be at least 10 feet away
from the house,
2. Block those leaks
One of the best ways to winterize your home is to simply block
obvious leaks around your house, both inside and out. The
average American home has leaks that amount to a
nine-square-foot hole in the wall.
First, find the leaks: On a breezy day, walk around inside
holding a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas:
recessed lighting, window and door frames, electrical outlets.
Then, buy door sweeps to close spaces under exterior doors, and
caulk or apply tacky rope caulk to those drafty spots. Outlet
gaskets can easily be installed in electrical outlets that share
a home's outer walls, where cold air often enters.
Outside, seal leaks with weather-resistant caulk. For brick
areas, use masonry sealer, which will better stand up to
freezing and thawing. Even if it's a small crack, it's worth
sealing up. It also discourages any insects from entering your
home.
3. Insulate yourself
Another thing that does cost a little money -- but boy, you do
get the money back quick -- is adding insulation to the existing
insulation in the attic. Regardless of the climate conditions
you live in, in the (U.S.) you need a minimum of 12 inches of
insulation in your attic.
Don't clutter your brain with R-values or measuring tape,
though. The rule of thumb on whether you need to add insulation:
If you go into the attic and you can see the ceiling joists you
know you don't have enough, because a ceiling joist is at most
10 or 11 inches."
A related tip: If you're layering insulation atop other
insulation, don't use the kind that has "kraft face" finish
(i.e., a paper backing). It acts as a vapor barrier, and
therefore can cause moisture problems in the insulation.
4. Check the furnace
First, turn your furnace on now, to make sure it's even working,
before the coldest weather descends. A strong, odd,
short-lasting smell is natural when firing up the furnace in the
autumn; simply open windows to dissipate it. But if the smell
lasts a long time, shut down the furnace and call a
professional.
It's a good idea to have furnaces cleaned and tuned annually.
Costs will often run about $100-$125. An inspector should do the
following, among other things:
- Make sure that the thermostat and pilot light are working properly.
- Make sure that the fuel pipe entering your furnace doesn't have a leak.
- Check the heat exchanger for cracks -- a crack can send carbon monoxide into the home.
- Change the filter.
Throughout the winter you should change the furnace filters
regularly (check them monthly). A dirty filter impedes air flow,
reduces efficiency and could even cause a fire in an extreme
case. Toss out the dirty fiberglass filters; reusable
electrostatic or electronic filters can be washed.
5. Get your ducts in a row
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a home with central
heating can lose up to 60% of its heated air before that air
reaches the vents if ductwork is not well-connected and
insulated, or if it must travel through unheated spaces. That's
a huge amount of wasted money, not to mention a chilly house.
(Check out this audit tool for other ideas on how to save on
your energy bills this winter.)
Ducts aren't always easy to see, but you can often find them
exposed in the attic, the basement and crawlspaces. Repair
places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air
to the house, and fix gaps with a metal-backed tape (duct tape
actually doesn't stand up to the job over time).
Ducts also should be vacuumed once every few years, to clean out
the abundant dust, animal hair and other gunk that can gather in
them and cause respiratory problems.
6. Face your windows
Now, of course, is the time to take down the window screens and
put up storm windows, which provide an extra layer of protection
and warmth for the home. Storm windows are particularly helpful
if you have old, single-pane glass windows. But if you don't
have storm windows, and your windows are leaky or drafty, They
need to be updated to a more efficient window.
Of course, windows are pricey. Budget to replace them a few at a
time, and in the meantime, buy a window insulator kit is
recommend. Basically, the kit is plastic sheeting that's affixed
to a window’s interior with double-stick tape. A hair dryer is
then used to shrink-wrap the sheeting onto the window. (It can
be removed in the spring.) It's a temporary and it's not pretty,
but it's inexpensive (about $4 a window) and it's extremely
effective.
7. Don't forget the chimney
Ideally, spring is the time to think about your chimney, because
chimney sweeps are going crazy right now, as you might have
guessed.
With that said, don't put off your chimney needs before using
your fireplace. A common myth is that a chimney needs to be
swept every year. Not true. But a chimney should at least be
inspected before use each year. I've seen tennis balls and ducks
in chimneys.
Ask for a Level 1 inspection, in which the professional examines
the readily accessible portions of the chimney. Most certified
chimney sweeps include a Level 1 service with a sweep.
Woodstoves are a different beast. They should be swept more than
once a year. A general rule of thumb is that a cleaning should
be performed for every ¼ inch of creosote anywhere that it's
found. Why? If it's ash, then it's primarily lye -- the same
stuff that was once used to make soap and it's very acidic. It
can cause mortar and the metal damper to rot.
Another tip: Buy a protective cap for your chimney, with
a screen. It's probably the single easiest protection because it
keeps out foreign objects (birds, tennis balls) as well as rain
that can mix with the ash and eat away at the fireplace's walls.
Buying based on durability, not appearance.
One other reminder: To keep out cold air, fireplace owners
should keep their chimney's damper closed when the fireplace
isn't in use. And for the same reason, woodstove owners should
have glass doors on their stoves, and keep them closed when the
stove isn't in use.
Check out
CSIA'S
Web site for a list of certified chimney sweeps in your
area.
8. Reverse that fan
Reversing your ceiling fan is a small tip that people don't
often think of. By reversing its direction from the summer
operation, the fan will push warm air downward and force it to
re-circulate, keeping you more comfortable. (Here's how you know
the fan is ready for winter: As you look up, the blades should
be turning clockwise.)
9. Wrap those pipes
A burst pipe caused by a winter freeze is a nightmare. Prevent
it before Jack Frost sets his grip: Before freezing nights hit,
make certain that the water to your hose bibs is shut off inside
your house (via a turnoff valve), and that the lines are
drained. In climes such as Portland, Ore., or Seattle, where
freezing nights aren't commonplace, you can install Styrofoam
cups with a screw attachment to help insulate spigots.
Next, go looking for other pipes that aren't insulated, or that
pass through unheated spaces -- pipes that run through
crawlspaces, basements or garages. Wrap them with pre-molded
foam rubber sleeves or fiberglass insulation, available at
hardware stores. If you're really worried about a pipe freezing,
you can first wrap it with heating tape, which is basically an
electrical cord that emits heat.
10. Finally, check those alarms
This is a great time to check the operation and change the
batteries on your home's smoke detectors. Detectors should be
replaced every 10 years, fire officials say. Test them, older
ones in particular with a small bit of actual smoke, and not
just by pressing the "test" button. Check to see that your fire
extinguisher is still where it should be, and still works.
Also, invest in a carbon-monoxide detector;
every home should have at least one.
APS
Commercial Property Inspection Service
Serving Cleveland, Lakewood and Northeast Ohio
1582 Victoria Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 544-9322
(866) 875-5566
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