4 Easy Ways To Winterize Your Home

In the frigid cold of the Canadian winter, it’s important for people to not only prepare themselves but their homes. Taking the time to winterize a home can help prevent the harsh cold from damaging it later on, especially if it's going to be put on the market to be sold in the Spring. There are many ways homeowners can winterize their homes, but here are some simple ways that don’t require much time or effort to complete.

1. Change the Furnace Filter

A furnace’s filter should be changed a few times a year in order to help it keep running properly. However, it’s especially important to replace the filter when winterizing a home. Changing the filter regularly helps extend a furnace’s lifespan, keeps energy costs lower because it doesn’t have to work as hard to move air through a clogged filter, improves the air quality, and helps prevent it from breaking down in the winter when it’s needed the most. Hardware stores supply just about every size filter a furnace could need, so homeowners  should find out what size they need and keep a few on hand to swap out when the old one gets dirty.

2. Run Ceiling Fans in Reverse

Once the summer is over and it’s too cold for fans, most homeowners don’t think much past turning them off when it comes to winterizing. However, what many homeowners don’t know is that most ceiling fans have a switch on them that allows the direction the blades spin to be reversed. In the winter, heat naturally rises upward, and by switching the direction that the fans turn, it allows the fan to suck cool air upward, which forces the warm air back down where it can warm the home. Running ceiling fans at night in this manner can be a good way to keep bedrooms warm without resorting to turning up the thermostat, the cost of which can add up quickly during a cold winter.

3. Prevent Drafts With Door Snakes

Even when they have weather stripping, many doors have the unfortunate feature of allowing cold air to sneak into a home, causing cold drafts. In order to prevent this, Panorama Hills homeowners can buy a door snake or other similar product. Door snakes are just a tube of fabric, weighted down with sand, beads, or foam, that can be placed in front of a door to prevent drafts. There are several different types of draft guards that homeowners can also look into, but these are the most common that can be found in stores. Door snakes can even be made at home with a rolled up towel to save money.

4. Add Insulation to Windows

Windows, especially if they only have one pane, can let a lot of cold into a home. One way to insulate windows is to invest in either double or triple pane windows. However, buying all new windows isn’t viable for everyone, so substitutes have to be made. Instead, a cheaper alterative that helps keep some of the cold out is just to use a window insulation kit that many hardware stores sell. The kit comes with sheets of clear plastic that can be stuck onto windows, that way homeowners don’t have to sacrifice visibility for lower energy bills. While insulation kits aren’t as effective as insulated windows, they do provide a buffer that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

These are just four of the many ways homeowners can winterize their homes. For more tips on how homeowners can start winterization, try going to a local hardware store and asking about what homeowners can do to prepare their home.