5 Indoor Winter House Maintenance Tips
Every season brings with it different challenges for your home. However, the season that has the potential to cause the most damage to your house is winter. Between snow, ice, storms, etc., your house endures a lot to keep you and your family safe and warm for the holidays. Therefore, it’s important to keep up with your winter house maintenance to keep your digs in tip-top shape. This will help keep your family safe and prepared in the case of severe weather.
There are a few things you can do inside and outside of your house to keep everything in order and prepared for the oncoming winter. Here are a few of the most important annual indoor winter house maintenance tips.
- Prepare for a storm
- Protect entryways
- Inspect insulation
- Check heating system
- Reverse ceiling fans
1. Prepare for a storm
As we all experienced last year in the 2021 Texas Winter Storm, a severe storm can happen unexpectedly at any time with devastating results. While you cannot plan for when a severe storm might occur, you can make sure you are prepared ahead of time for whenever it does. Preparing for severe storms as part of your winter house maintenance checklist is a perfect time, as power outages can be fairly common in winter storms.
Survival/Emergency kit
Your home should always be prepared with the things you and your family will need to survive in an emergency should the power go out for a significant period of time. As part of your winter house preparation, make sure your emergency kit is complete and updated with necessities such as:
- Water (one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation)
- Food (at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food)
- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
- Flashlight
- First aid kit
- Extra batteries
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties (for personal sanitation)
- Manual can opener (for food)
- Local maps
- Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery
- Etc…(check out the official government preparedness website for the complete list of recommended items)
Install storm windows and doors
As extra support for your home during a storm, consider installing storm windows and doors. Not only does this help protect your home and belongings from storm damage, but storm windows/doors also help seal in the heat from your heating system. This keeps your heating system from overworking due to heat loss, which can cause a spike in your electricity bill. Storm windows and doors are well worth the investment.
Consider a generator
To truly protect your home, family, and livelihood from severe storms, you should consider getting a generator. During prolonged power outages, a generator will keep some lights on, your heat going, and allow you to charge your devices. As we experienced during the winter storm last year, having a generator in times like that can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. A capable generator is a winter house preparation item that you should definitely consider.
2. Protect entryways
If it ices or snows, your entryway becomes susceptible to water damage from foot traffic as family members and guests track ice, snow, and mud in on their shoes and outerwear. To help combat this, as part of your winter house preparedness checklist, make sure there are mats outside and inside of your entryway door. Also, consider having boot trays accessible in your entryway, and ready your mudroom with a place to dry wet outerwear. Not only will this help protect your home from water damage but it also helps keep things tidy and homey, especially if you’re hosting guests in your home for the holidays.
3. Inspect insulation
Proper insulation is important to help keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Therefore, inspecting your insulation is another important winter house maintenance item that keeps your family warm and your electricity bill low.
4. Check heating system
Before temperatures begin to fully plummet in the winter, make sure your heating system is in good working order as part of your winter house preparedness checklist. There are a few different types of heating systems and different things you need to do to make sure they are good to go depending on which type you have. If you are unsure, call your local HVAC technician to check your systems to make sure they are winter-ready.
5. Reverse ceiling fans
Did you know that you can reverse the direction your ceiling fans spin and that it makes a difference? If you have ceiling fans, there should be a button that reverses the spin direction from counterclockwise to clockwise. In doing so, your ceiling fan will push the hot air downwards into the room. This is a sneaky little trick in keeping your house warmer without extra work from your heating system, especially if you have tall ceilings. If you’ve never done this before, consider adding this to your winter house maintenance checklist.
Keeping up with your winter house maintenance each year makes sure your house is in tip-top shape when you are ready to sell. Are you considering selling your home soon? Give Ruth Stultz a call to see how she can help! Ruth Stultz is a highly experienced realtor who understands Lake Conroe and Montgomery County better than anyone. When it comes to selling your current home or finding the perfect property with everything you want, Ruth knows exactly where to look. You can trust Ruth Stultz with buying and selling your home.
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