A cold winter can be hard on your home, especially if you don't take the time to perform the necessary maintenance. This can and should include replacing the weather stripping around your windows and fixing any leaks in your roof, but any good home maintenance plan should include mechanical system maintenance. Issues with your electrical and HVAC systems are never fun to deal with, but they can be especially problematic when they come up during the coldest months of the year.
Winterizing your home isn't as hard as it sounds, but it does take some work on your part. Here are a few tips that will help keep your home and all of its mechanical systems safe for the coming winter.
Inspect Your Furnace
Your furnace should be inspected at least once a year, even if it's fairly new and running without any problems. Regular maintenance can help you identify minor issues before they get out of hand and either become too costly to repair or cause a major catastrophe that has you facing a snowy winter with no heat. There is no better time to have your furnace inspected than just before the prime heating season, so call a local HVAC contractor to look over your furnace and ducts soon before winter officially begins.
Winterize Your Pipes
Frozen pipes are a serious problem in many homes, but it can be easily avoided. First of all, you should insulate any visible pipes in your basement, garage or any other part of your home that is routinely exposed to cold air. Some cloth and duct tape is a good quick fix for these situations. Next, you should shut off the water to any exterior faucets and drain them of all water to keep the pipes connected to them from bursting. This includes any underground sprinkler system you may have. Finally, call a professional plumbing service to check any pipes that may have worn down or otherwise become damaged as these will be the most likely to burst if your water ever freezes.
Prepare Your Electricity for the Winter
Your electricity bill will most likely rise in the winter as you use electric space heaters and generally spend more time indoors. This is to be expected of even the most energy efficient homes, but your home may be prone to other electrical problems in the winter that will only make you spend more money on your energy bills this winter. If you have any exterior wires or outlets, make sure they are in working order, and keep any outlets covered if they aren't going to be used. You may need to rearrange wires so that they won't be damaged by ice or blowing tree branches should a winter storm hit. If you use heaters to keep ice dams from forming on your roof, have them checked out to make sure they are in proper working order. If they aren't have them repaired or replaced before you need them.
Winterizing your home does require some work on your part, but it's always a good idea to call a mechanical systems service company to look over your home and prepare it for winter. Without the proper training, you can never be sure if you missed anything important that could spell disaster for your home during a cold winter.
No matter what your home maintenance needs, keep your home feeling comfortable all winter long with the Tudi Home Comfort Plan. From Plumbers in Pittsburgh to Home heating repair in the South Hills, let the master technicians at Tudi keep your home running efficiently and safely all winter long. Keep your home comfortable all year-round, contact Tudi today and ask about our comprehensive home maintenance plans.
