Winter is coming. Along with Christmas and hot cocoa, winter also brings cold weather, snow, and ice. If no adjustments are made, the harshness of winter can result in expensive heating bills and water damage for homeowners.

Fear not! These 8 simple tips can help protect your home for winter and save you some serious cash.

1. Install Door Sweeps

To stop undesired cool air from sneaking into your home, adhere door sweeps to the bottom of your door frames. These flexible strips of plastic can be found in most home appliance stores or online.

2. Lower the Water Heater Temp & Insulate Your Pipes

Keeping your water heater hot can get expensive as the temperature drops, but these 2 simple tips may help keep your heating bill from skyrocketing.

First, consider lowering your hot water temperature for the winter. You can take it down by 10 to 20 degrees, and it will still be warm enough for things like showering and doing dishes. Plan to keep it set to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, cover exposed hot water pipes with snap-on foam sleeves. You can find these at your local hardware store, just make sure you’ve taken measurements first.

3. Reverse Your Ceiling Fans

Setting your fan to a slow, clockwise rotation will pull cold air up and push warm rising air back to the ground. This can help circulate warm air which may help lower your heating bill.

4. Weatherstrip Draft Areas

Check your windows, doors, vents, and attic for drafts. To reduce the amount of cold air entering your home and warm air exiting it, install weatherstripping wherever you feel a draft coming through.

5. Clean Your Gutters

The fallen leaves from autumn can clog your gutters and cause them to retain water. If that water freezes, it can eventually result in blocked water that can seep into your home. In some severe cases, clogged, frozen gutters can become too heavy and break.

6. Trim Nearby Trees

When snow accumulates on dead branches, the weight can cause the tree to fall. If you have any trees that could fall on your home, keep the branches reasonably trimmed. This can also help keep the trees alive through the winter.

7. Prevent Frozen Pipes

Cut off water to exterior faucets that aren’t used in winter. To protect interior pipes, leave your faucets dripping anytime the temperature drops below freezing.

8. Clean The Chimney

At least once a year, it’s important to clean out the ash and residue that can build up in your chimney. This can help prevent unwanted fires and carbon monoxide poisonings. 

If you have questions about finding, selling, or maintaining your home in the winter, contact Blue Ridge Properties.