Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, we don’t always get done what we would like too, when we’d like to. It may be mid-winter, but you can still take steps to winterize your home if you haven’t had the time to do it. There are still a lot of cold days and nights ahead of us before spring starts to emerge. Winterizing helps protect your home from cold weather damage and can save you money on heating costs, and, these days, saving money where we can is important! Here are some effective steps to winterize your home:
1. Wrap Pipes with Pipe Wrap
- Why It's Important: Frozen pipes are a common issue in winter. They can burst, causing flooding inside your home, leading to costly repairs and headaches.
- How to Do It: Use pipe wrap or foam insulation sleeves on exposed pipes, particularly those in unheated areas like basements, attics, and garages. Most local home improvement stores carry these products.
2. Add Weather Stripping to Doors and Windows
- Benefits: Prevents cold air from entering and warm air from escaping, improving energy efficiency and helping it to stay warm inside. It also helps protect you from condensation forming, which can lead to water damage and/or mold.
- Implementation: Install weather stripping around doors and windows. Check for drafts and seal any gaps with caulk or weather stripping. Even new windows can leak air, so regardless of the age of your windows, it is wise to do this.
3. Check Attic Insulation
- Purpose: Proper insulation in the attic prevents heat loss through the roof.
- Action Plan: Inspect the insulation in your attic. It should be evenly spread without any gaps. If it’s thinning or damaged, consider adding more insulation.
The recommended R-Values for insulation in Colorado are:
4. Use a Programmable Thermostat
- Advantages: Helps in maintaining a consistent temperature and reducing heating costs.
- Utilization: Install a programmable thermostat if you don’t already have one. Set it to lower the temperature when you're not home and during the night.
5. Insulate Outdoor Faucets
- Reason: Water in the sprinkler system can freeze and cause damage.
- Method: Turn off the water supply to your sprinkler system and drain all the water out. You might also need to blow out the lines with compressed air.
Additional Tips:
- Roof and Gutter Maintenance: Clean your gutters of leaves and debris and check your roof for any damage that could lead to leaks to avoid structural damage, mold or flooding.
- Furnace Inspection: Have your heating system inspected and serviced by a professional yearly. This will ensure your furnace is running properly and efficiently.
- Emergency Kit: In case of power outages or other emergencies, consider preparing an emergency kit with essentials like flashlights, batteries, blankets, bottled water, MRE’s, pet supplies and a first-aid kit.
Following these steps will help keep your home safer and warmer during the cold winter months, and lessen the chances of your pipes freezing. If you do have a pipe freezing/water damage/basement flooding or mold issue, despite all of your efforts, knowing who to call during such an emergency is helpful. Best Option Restoration of Colorado Springs are your local water damage restoration experts, here to assist you 24/7, whether your issue is large or small. We fix new issues, old issues and issues not completely resolved by other repair companies. For a free estimate, contact us at 719-619-8616.
Best Option Restoration of Colorado Springs is a 24/7 Emergency water, fire and mold damage repair company. We are locally owned and operated, licensed and insured. Our experienced technicians will arrive quickly and with a sense of urgency when you call us for help. We work with all insurance companies and are happy to assist you with your claim.
You can depend on Best Option Restoration of Colorado Springs to have the best equipment and utilize the latest technology to repair your property fast and professionally. If your home or business has water damage, fire damage, or mold damage, contact Best Option Restoration of Colorado Springs for fast, friendly, local service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
