Getting ready to switch gears from summer head to the chilly temperatures of winter can be a daunting task. It can be challenging to figure out where to start to ensure your home is adequately heated and cooled. It is imperative to ensure the temperature in your home is always comfortable.

1. Protect Your Home from the Cold

The first rule of thumb to prepare your home for the winter is to ensure the cold air stays outside. Your heating unit won’t have to work as hard if the cold air stays outside. Ensuring that the cold air stays out will keep you warm through the coldest nights, and it will also keep your utility bills low.

Look for cracks all over your home in the seals of your windows and doors. Make sure they are correctly caulked so that no cold air can seep through. See if you can feel any cold air through the seals. If you can, reinforce the seals to fix the problem. You can also look into weatherstripping the seals around your windows and doors. It is essential to keep the cold air out as much as possible this winter.

2. Make Sure Warm Air Stays In

Keeping the warm air inside your home is imperative to ensuring you remain warm and comfortable all winter. You will want to insulate your home to help keep the warm air where it belongs. Insulation will not only keep the warmth in but is also an energy-efficient way to keep your utility bills down.

You will want to make sure you add insulation to all the critical spots. These include your attic, basement, and any crawlspaces you might have. Hire a professional to inspect your home to ensure you have it properly insulated before winter.

3. Make Sure Your Fireplaces and Heating Systems are Clean

If you do not ensure your wood-burning stoves and fireplaces are adequately cleaned, creosote can build up and cause a fire. You need to clean your stoves and fireplaces regularly to avoid this. You should also be cleaning your chimneys regularly.

It is not only wood-burning stoves that should be checked. You should be checking and cleaning your gas stoves, as well. Debris can build up on them over time and cause them to malfunction. You will want to ensure everything is in tip-top shape before winter so you can heat your house and use your stoves without having to worry about malfunctions when it starts to snow. You may want to consider booking an appointment with an HVAC contractor before busy season.

4. Check Your Smoke Detectors

Safety should always be your number-one priority in any situation. Preparing your home for the winter is no exception. With all of your doors and windows sealed and your fireplaces and heating systems running full-time, you are going to want to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working correctly. You don’t want to get caught in a snowstorm and find your smoke detector is out of battery and no longer functioning properly. Make sure you get a fresh set of batteries in all of your detectors before it gets too cold.

5. Get Your Winter Supplies Ready

Preparing for anything when the weather starts to get cold is important. Power outages happen all the time in the winter. It could be caused by an ice storm or a snowstorm. Whatever the cause, you are going to want to make sure you are prepared.

It is always a good idea to get supplies ready in an emergency. Also, get some canned foods, bottles of water, candles, flashlights, extra blankets, and anything else you think you might need in the event of an emergency in the winter. Put everything somewhere easily accessible, and you are prepared for anything.

6. Prevent Freezing Pipes

It will be a huge inconvenience if your pipes freeze this winter. You won’t be able to use the running water in your home. It is essential to make sure your pipes are insulated before it gets too cold.

You can prevent your pipes from freezing by keeping your faucets dripping and keeping your house at a 55 F minimum at all times. Make sure you unscrew the hose outside to prevent them from freezing. You can also have a professional check your pipes to make sure there is no water stuck anywhere that can freeze. You don’t want your pipes to burst from frozen water.

7. Prepare the Roof and Gutters Against Ice Dams

Make sure your jitters are clean before it gets too cold. Water backing up in your gutters could freeze over and cause an ice dam. Ice dams can cause severe damage to your roof or siding. A good thing to have on hand is a roof rake to help you easily remove and build up debris before winter.