Save Money and winterize your home in 10 steps. 1. Clean those gutters. Once the leaves fall, remove them and other debris from your homes gutters -- by hand, by scraper or spatula, and finally by a good hose rinse -- so that winters rain and melting snow can drain. As youre hosing out your gutters, look for leaks and misaligned pipes. Also, make sure the downspouts are carrying water away from the houses foundation, where it could cause flooding or other water damage. the rule of thumb is that water should be at least 10 feet away from the house. 2. Block those leaks One of the best ways to winterize your home is to simply block obvious leaks around your house, both inside and out. First, find the leaks: On a breezy day, walk around inside holding a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas: recessed lighting, window and door frames, electrical outlets. Then, buy door sweeps to close spaces under exterior doors, and caulk or apply tacky rope caulk to those drafty spots. Outside, seal leaks with weather-resistant caulk. For brick areas, use masonry sealer, which will better stand up to freezing and thawing. Even if its a small crack, its worth sealing up. 3. Insulate yourself Another thing that does cost a little money -- but boy, you do get the money back quick -- is adding insulation to the existing insulation in the attic. Regardless of the climate conditions you live in, in the (U.S.) you need a minimum of 12 inches of insulation in your attic. A good rule of thumb on whether you need to add insulation: If you go into the attic and you can see the ceiling joists you know you dont have enough, because a ceiling joist is at most 10 or 11 inches. A related tip: If youre layering insulation atop other insulation, dont use the kind that has kraft face finish (i.e., a paper backing). It acts as a vapor barrier, and therefore can cause moisture problems in the insulation. 4. Check the furnace First, turn your furnace on now, to make sure its even working, before the coldest weather descends. A strong, odd, short-lasting smell is natural when firing up the furnace in the autumn; simply open windows to dissipate it. But if the smell lasts a long time, shut down the furnace and call a professional. Throughout the winter you should change the furnace filters regularly (check them monthly). A dirty filter impedes air flow, reduces efficiency and could even cause a fire in an extreme case. Toss out the dirty fiberglass filters; reusable electrostatic or electronic filters can be washed. 5. Get your ducts in a row According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a home with central heating can lose up to 60% of its heated air before that air reaches the vents if ductwork is not well-connected and insulated, or if it must travel through unheated spaces. Thats a huge amount of wasted money, not to mention a chilly house. Ducts arent always easy to see, but you can often find them exposed in the attic, the basement and crawlspaces. Repair places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air to the house, and fix gaps with a metal-backed tape (duct tape actually doesnt stand up to the job over time). Ducts also should be vacuumed once every few years, to clean out the abundant dust, animal hair and other gunk that can gather in them and cause respiratory problems. 6. Face your windows Now, of course, is the time to take down the window screens and put up storm windows, which provide an extra layer of protection and warmth for the home. Storm windows are particularly helpful if you have old, single-pane glass windows. But if you dont have storm windows, and your windows are leaky or drafty. They need to be updated to a more efficient window. Of course, windows are pricey. Budget to replace them a few at a time, and in the meantime, buy a window insulator kit. Basically, the kit is plastic sheeting thats affixed to a window’s interior with double-stick tape. A hair dryer is then used to shrink-wrap the sheeting onto the window. (It can be removed in the spring.) Its temporary and its not pretty, but its inexpensive (about $4 a window) and its extremely effective. 7. Dont forget the chimney Ideally, spring is the time to think about your chimney, because chimney sweeps are going crazy right now, as you might have guessed, says Ashley Eldridge, director of education for the Chimney Safety Institute of America. That said, dont put off your chimney needs before using your fireplace, Eldridge advises. A common myth is that a chimney needs to be swept every year, says Eldridge. Not true. But a chimney should at least be inspected before use each year, he adds. Ive seen tennis balls and ducks in chimneys, he says. Ask for a Level 1 inspection, in which the professional examines the readily accessible portions of the chimney, Eldridge says. Most certified chimney sweeps include a Level 1 service with a sweep, he adds. Woodstoves are a different beast, however, cautions Eldridge. They should be swept more than once a year. A general rule of thumb is that a cleaning should be performed for every ¼ inch of creosote, anywhere that its found. Why? If its ash, then its primarily lye -- the same stuff that was once used to make soap, and its very acidic. It can cause mortar and the metal damper to rot, Eldridge says. Another tip: Buy a protective cap for your chimney, with a screen, advises Eldridge. Its probably the single easiest protection because it keeps out foreign objects (birds, tennis balls) as well as rain that can mix with the ash and eat away at the fireplaces walls. He advises buying based on durability, not appearance. One other reminder: To keep out cold air, fireplace owners should keep their chimneys damper closed when the fireplace isnt in use. And for the same reason, woodstove owners should have glass doors on their stoves, and keep them closed when the stove isnt in use. Check out CSIAS Web site for a list of certified chimney sweeps in your area. 8. Reverse that fan Reversing your ceiling fan is a small tip that people dont often think of. By reversing its direction from the summer operation, the fan will push warm air downward and force it to recirculate, keeping you more comfortable. 9. Wrap those pipes A burst pipe caused by a winter freeze is a nightmare. Prevent it before Jack Frost sets his grip: Before freezing nights hit, make certain that the water to your hose bibs is shut off inside your house (via a turnoff valve), and that the lines are drained. In climates such as we have, where freezing nights arent commonplace, you can install Styrofoam cups to help insulate spigots. Next, go looking for other pipes that arent insulated, or that pass through unheated spaces -- pipes that run through crawlspaces, basements or garages. Wrap them with pre-molded foam rubber sleeves or fiberglass insulation, available at hardware stores. If youre really worried about a pipe freezing, you can first wrap it with heating tape, which is basically an electrical cord that emits heat. 10. Finally, check those alarms This is a great time to check the operation -- and change the batteries -- on your homes smoke detectors. Detectors should be replaced every 10 years, fire officials say. Test them -- older ones in particular -- with a small bit of actual smoke, and not just by pressing the test button. Check to see that your fire extinguisher is still where it should be, and still works. Also, invest in a carbon-monoxide detector; every home should have at least one.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 19:35:28 +0000
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