Tips You Can Use to Make a Winter Checklist

You may already have attended to some important pre-winter maintenance tasks to protect your home and make it more energy efficient like getting a plumbing system tune-up and trimming trees and branches around your home.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

There are some additional tasks that you may not have had a chance to get to yet. Make some time now before the cold weather really hits. This checklist will get you set to be warm and safe inside your house this winter.

Proper Insulation is a Must

For both energy efficiency and comfort purposes, you need for your home to be well-insulated. How do you know if it is? If you experience fluctuating temperatures, cold spots on the ceilings and floors, leaks in your attic and a hike in your heating bills that doesn’t make sense, you may not have enough insulation.

It’s also possible that the insulation that you do have is damaged or deteriorated. It’s a worthwhile investment to upgrade. Too much moisture can promote mold growth, reducing the indoor air quality.

If your home is too moist, it won’t heat well either. That’s why making sure that your home is properly ventilated in the winter is crucial. Install exhaust fans in your most damp rooms- the kitchen and the bathroom.

These fans vent outside so that excess moisture will be drawn up and out. The other issue is that your windows are usually shut all winter long, which isn’t good for air quality. To circulate fresh air in your home, open windows a tiny crack for a few minutes a day. If it’s only for a few minutes, you shouldn’t have a problem with heat loss, but you’ll benefit from the fresh air.

De-Icing Salt Supply

It’s not uncommon to get a thin layer of ice on walkways and driveways here in Riverside, CA when it is really cold outside. Even a small amount of ice can pose a major slip and fall hazard.

A good sprinkling of de-icing salt will dissolve the ice and give you the traction that you need to walk safely on your driveway and sidewalk.

If you’ve got pets, make sure that you get de-icing salt that is pet-safe. It can be toxic for them, as well as hurt their paws.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector Testing

Now that the heat is on and that you are probably using your fireplace more often, it is a good idea to make sure that your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are working.