Are you ready for the onset of colder temperatures? More importantly, is your home ready for the colder weather? Just as you change over your wardrobe to bring in cozier clothing to keep you warm, you should be taking the same approach to your home too. The last thing you want to come across is issues simultaneously like those in your local area and be bumped down the queue when it comes to booking repairs.
So take some extra time now to go around your home and check out its condition to get ahead of the curve and avoid being stranded when you really need it the most.
Electronics
There are some giveaways you might notice in your home to identify any electrical problems. That is, once you know what you are looking for, you can find out if you need to call in the services of an electrician in your local area. Signs include;
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- Buzzing noises
- Warm or Sparking outlets
- Flickering lights
- Constantly blowing fuses
- Hot ceiling fixtures
- Broken light switches and more.
The last thing you want to find is your electrics have completely gone in the cold dead of winter. So make some checks now and get anything fixed ahead of time.
Boiler
Boilers are common problems come the winter. Especially if you haven’t used it over the warmer months. Many people suddenly expect their boilers to be able to put up with the increase in demand and constant use over the winter without actually checking it over before they need it.
Test it out asap before you really need to rely on it and make sure it is working fine. Check your radiators and bleed them if required too.
Insulate Pipes
Every exposed pipe that runs along a wall or is in an unheated location (such as a basement or crawl space) poses a potential safety risk. When the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the water inside the pipe can freeze and burst, causing the pipe to rupture. Pipe insulation is a simple and effective method of protecting them. It’s available at your local hardware store and looks like a huge piece of spaghetti with a slit in it. Cutting it to fit the pipe’s length and wrapping it around the pipe to secure it, if necessary, is the next step.
Check for Drafts
Hold a lit candle along each windowsill and baseboard. See it flicker? That signals a draft—and for each draft that you eliminate, you can increase your home’s energy efficiency. For baseboards, clean and dry the area with a paper towel. Then, using white or clear paintable caulking, fill gaps between the trim and the floor with an even bead. Smooth with a wet finger, then remove the excess with a damp cloth. To seal drafty windows and doors, use weather stripping (around the frame) or window-film kits (over the glass; both available at hardware stores).
Check Door Locks
You can avoid this problem if you’ve experienced it before or live in an icy region by spraying a little amount of powdered graphite lubricant into each door lock (where the key goes) and then turning the key in. The powder lubricates the pins inside the lock, preventing them from sticking.
Photo by Luca Chiandoni
