Winter Maintenance: Should You DIY or Call a Pro?
Nov 20, 2020There's a lot to do to prep your home for winter. Know which winter home maintenance is best left to the pros.
Between dropping temperatures and dropping leaves, fall gives homeowners a long to-do list to get ready for winter. Last month we shared our holiday prep checklist to keep you organized leading up to a festive holiday season. This month, here are 9 tasks you shouldn’t forget to prep your home before winter sets in. Some are easy to do on your own, while others may call for the help of a pro.
Winter Home Maintenance You Can DIY
Do It Yourself
Check Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors
This easy task usually comes up when we change the clocks for Daylight Savings Time. During cold weather, be extra vigilant about ensuring that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors have fresh batteries and are in proper working order. Increased use of fireplaces, cozy candles, furnaces, and space heaters increases the risk of house fires. Follow our tips to make sure your windows can be safely operated in case you need to use them to escape a house fire.
Read: Are Your Windows a Fire Hazard?
Do It Yourself
Reverse Your Ceiling Fans
Over the summer, we talk about the smart use of ceiling fans as to lower your air conditioning bills. Don’t forget to flip the switch this winter! Ceiling fans should run clockwise on a low setting in the winter. This creates an updraft that circulates warm air around the room and, combined with the right windows, helps improve your home’s overall energy efficiency. Improveit windows feature Thermostat glass that allow radiant heat to pass through the glass in the winter. That passive heating, plus circulation from your ceiling fans, will give your furnace the break it deserves this winter.
Do It Yourself
Disconnect Hoses & Insulate Exterior Pipes
The last thing you need this winter is your home flooded with ice-cold water. Be sure to disconnect garden hoses from outdoor spigots before freezing temperatures set in. Additionally, cover exposed exterior pipes with foam pipe sleeves. These easy steps will help prevent water in the pipes from freezing, expanding, and bursting. While you’re at it, check your sump pump’s operation and consider adding a water leak sensor near your sump pump and/or water meter. Convenient digital models can be monitored via an app on your phone so you get instant alerts in case of a flood at any time of year.
Call a pro for these winter home maintenance checklist items
Call a Pro
Tune Up Your Heating System
We usually recommend checking your furnace as part of your fall maintenance routine. But if this task made it to your winter home maintenance checklist, don’t put it off any longer. As the mercury drops, have your heating system checked by a professional so they can repair leaks and damage, replace filters, and flush the lines of your heating system. The better condition your system is in, the more efficiently and reliably it will operate for you until warm weather returns.
Call a Pro
Fireplace Cleaning
Chimneys for both wood-burning and gas fireplaces should have a professional cleaning annually, according to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA). Chimney professionals will clear soot, creosote, and even birds’ nests from chimneys so they can operate safely. They’re also trained to identify corrosion caused by natural gas and propane, as well as masonry damage that can inhibit proper chimney operation or pose a hazard. The CSIA has homeowner resources to find a trained chimney sweep in your area.
Call a Pro
Prune Tree Limbs
Clearing out deadwood and excess branches helps promote healthy tree growth, but it’s also a winter maintenance task that can keep your home safe. When heavy snow and ice accumulates on tree branches, those limbs can bend or break, threatening the tree’s health and potentially damaging your home or property. Kent, Ohio-based Davey Tree says trees are dormant between late fall and early spring, making winter an ideal time for pruning. Reach out to an arborist to safely and effectively prune your trees. Taking this step now will spare you the cost of repairing tree and property damage down the road. Come spring, the trees will be able to focus all their energy on beautiful new leaves and blooms.
Your Choice: DIY or Call a Pro for These Winter Maintenance Tasks
DIY or Call a Pro
Clean the Gutters & Avoid Ice Dams
Raking leaves is one thing, but don’t forget to clear debris from your gutters too. Keeping these channels clear will help prevent ice from building up, which can damage not just the gutters, but your siding, roofing, and walls as well. If you’ve noticed snow or icicles building up on your roof edges in previous winters, consider inspecting your roof, attic, and eaves for moisture damage and insufficient insulation, or have a pro come out and safely inspect the top level of your house for you.
DIY or Call a Pro
Seal Leaky Doors & Windows
Air infiltration around doors and windows is one of the biggest causes of heat loss in a home, and therefore, high energy bills. Most homeowners notice this issue when cold winter air finds its way in through drafty windows.
To check yours, first make sure each window is closed and locked. Some drafts can easily be felt with your hand, while some DIYers might want to try an infrared thermometer.
If you find a draft, add peel-and-stick weather-stripping inside door jambs and window sashes, and caulk around window frames and exterior gaps.
These steps are easy to DIY, and may help drafty windows get through another cold winter. But remember this: A gap as narrow as 1/16-inch around a window is the equivalent of a hole the size of a brick in the side of your home!
The longer you live with drafty windows during the winter, the more money you’ll lose to high heating bills. This is when it’s important to call in the professionals. Improveit offers free window consultations and energy evaluation to help you asses your window replacement needs. You can also take our easy one-question quiz to see how soon you might need to replace your windows!
DIY or Call a Pro
Check Window Wells
While you’re outside protecting your pipes, checking your gutters, etc., take a quick look at the windows wells around the base of your home. These spaces are designed to provide egress in case occupants need to get out through the basement window. Window wells should be clear of debris, and should be repaired or replaced if the surrounding soil is encroaching or causing the window well to buckle. While you’re at it, inspect your basement hopper windows as well to ensure they’re operating properly and aren’t leaking. Improveit can help if these windows need to be replaced.
“My install happened in November and I was concerned about them coming out in the cold. The install team worked swiftly, professionally, and at no time was my home left drafty or chilled. They left my property better than when they arrive I am delighted!”
-Patricia N., Cincinnati, OH
Improveit is Your Go-To Pro for Winter Maintenance
Once your winter home maintenance checklist is complete, you can feel confident that your home is in tip-top shape to make it through a cold winter. If your windows are drafty, broken, aren’t operating quite right, don’t wait until the spring to have them inspected by a trusted advisor.
The Improveit team is ready to come out at any time of year and make sure your home is in great shape! Our top-notch installers work year-round, and can have new windows in place quickly so you don’t have to worry about shivering through your installation day.
Reach out today for your free window consultation and energy evaluation!
