Saturday, 1 October 2011

Winterize The House This Upcoming Fall Season

By Joya Crye


Almost everyone has been aware of spring cleaning, but not many people know what it means to winterize your home. Once fall arrives you need to inspect your home's readiness for the upcoming winter. Autumn, with the attendant dying out of leafy growth, is a great time to examine your residence's walls, since it will be easier to spot any shrubs that are becoming invasive. Clean away roots and vines clinging to the siding, otherwise they may cause damage - even bricks are vulnerable.

When they are no longer needed to do any watering, the hose should all be emptied and rolled up to be put into storage for the winter. The external faucets have to have the water turned off, and then permitted to drain dry. After you believe you won't utilize the garden furniture again that year, get it cleaned and stored in a dry place. You need to protect any young trees you might have with mulch, particularly in their first year of growth. To allow for excessive rainfall, you should purge any drainage ditches that you have.

Fireplaces pop into your head when the weather starts getting colder. Almost everyone calls for a chimney sweep at the same time when a chilly spell shows up, so call early to beat the rush. If you are going to need firewood, search for a source and create a good stock early. When traveling around outlying areas, you might find local people who sell fire wood, without lots of advertising. Verify and ensure that all the smoke alarm systems are working, irrespective of whether you light fires in winter or not. If you leave your Christmas lights in place for the whole year, check that the cords are still flexible. If you normally install storm windows, this is the time to do it. Summer dries out weather-stripping, and so check if they need replacing.

During the winter months, the windows remain closed most of the time, so make sure that the screens in your range hood are in good working order. Complete a check of the ground-slope all around the residence, ensuring that it falls away from the walls. Water emptying into the basement and the platform can cause significant problems. The first deterioration is wet rot, which eventually leads to dry rot, and this is definitely something to be avoided anywhere in your home. You should look for seepage regularly.

You should look for leaks, the most at risk places being the roof, gutters, down-pipes and inside plumbing. If you find some leaks, you should obviously get them repaired. Encapsulate any external pipes, definitely so if your house is older, and cut down drafts by placing a cover over air-conditioning units. Your floor coverings may need to be shampooed to eliminate dust which in winter is readily noticed. You should use the opportunity to thoroughly clean the windows.




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