How to Winterize Your Home This Fall
Our Professional Home Builder’s Checklist & Tips
As the cold weather quickly approaches in Minnesota, it's important to take a few steps to ensure your home serves you through the coming winter months. Please take the time to check these home maintenance items this fall, whether personally attending to this list or hiring professionals.
Exterior Checklist
Clean out your gutters
Prevent ice dams and clogging by cleaning your gutters from leaves and other debris. A good rule of thumb is to have the gutters cleaned as soon as the last leaves have fallen in the autumn. If you want to avoid having to clean your gutters, consider installing gutter guards. Clean gutters will also allow melting snow to drain properly.
Inspect and clean up your roof
Make sure to inspect the roof at the end of the season. Look for damaged shingles, clogged valleys, and any other deterioration. Clear up accumulated debris. Cut back overhanging branches to prevent damage to shingles and gutters.
Service your windows for winter
Clean the windows themselves and then additionally clean out tracks and lube the slides of your windows. Remove any screens from the windows as you prepare for winter.
Inspect all exterior caulking
Make sure to caulk around any holes and openings to help prevent cold air from seeping into your house.
Check for weather stripping on all exterior doors and replace if necessary
Remove all attached garden hoses, drain them, and store them away
When left in the lines, excess water can freeze and damage the pipes and the valves. Shut off the valves and insulate the faucet. Also, be sure to turn off and drain interior faucets that go to the exterior.
Turn off and blow out your sprinkler system
Avoid damage to your sprinklers by having a professional come out and winterize your system.
Inspect all fireplace vents to make sure nests weren’t built in the venting system
Clean out all exterior air vents
Keep driveways and sidewalks clear of ice and snow by stocking up on driveway salt
Make sure your salt is concrete-friendly if needed.
Winterize your deck and outdoor space
Ready your deck and patio space for winter by clearing off fallen leaves and debris. Cover your outdoor furniture with waterproof covers and wraps to protect it from the harsh winter elements.
Interior Checklist
Check and test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
Believe it or not, residential fires are more common in winter, so it is important that all of your smoke detectors work. Check and replace batteries as needed.
Change and clean the filters on your furnace and air exchanger
Furnaces should be serviced at least once a year to clear any buildup and to keep them running efficiently. Your furnace filter traps pollen and dust and by replacing it with a fresh filter regularly(we suggest every three months) your furnace will function more efficiently.
Make sure your furnace setting is set on the fan (not auto) and turn on / test to make sure your heat works
Adjust humidifier for winter months
Lastly, stock up on these winter staples in case of a winter storm!
Snow shovel, ice scraper, ice melt, flashlights, and extra batteries.
Download Our Checklist PDF By Filling Out The Form Below!
