How to Winterize Your Home: Indoor Maintenance

By Susan M. Keenan

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Inside Your Home

Preparing for the winter months inside the home is just as important as outside the home. A few minutes spent repairing something can save endless hours and dollars replacing something. Take the time to so a room by room search and discover what is in need of a bit of fixing up.

Heating Systems

• If you have a furnace, change the filter in the beginning of the fall season. Don't worry about how dirty it is or isn't, simply replace it with a new one.
• Clean each of the registers in the house. This will help to promote efficiency for your heating system.
• Now is the time to open up the area in front of the registers by moving the furniture, curtains, and loose carpeting away from them. This will allow the heated air to circulate more freely. It will also lessen the risk of fire hazards.
• Have your chimney and its flue inspected by a professional chimney cleaner. Have him remove any accumulated creosote.

Insulation: Walls, Ceilings, and Pipes

• Invest some time in researching the R-value of your current insulation. Research what value you should have in your home. Replace the insulation in any areas that have the wrong value. Be sure that you check floors, walls, and ceilings.
• If you do not have one already, purchase and install a hot water heater insulating blanket to conserve heat. This will also help to prevent water damage should you lose power for an extended time. Water heater blankets come with a simple set of directions.
• Purchase special pipe insulating material. Insulate all exposed pipes in your basement and garage areas. If necessary, you might want to consider relocating the pipes to a heated area of your home. At the very least, use some heat tape to cover the pipes.

Electrical: Lighting and Fans

• Check for loose wiring on any lamps, lighting fixtures, and fans. Replace any that need it.
• Clean all of your electrical fixtures completely.
• Turn off the power supply to all ceiling fans. Oil the motor. Turn the power back on when you are finished.
• Switch the direction of the ceiling fan's blades. This will maximize the benefit of circulating the heated air in the room.

Air Leaks

• To retain the maximum amount of heat in your home, replace lighter weight curtains with heavy drapes.
• Caulk or add insulation plates to the electrical outlets to minimize heat loss due to air leaks.
• Caulk or add insulation to pipe fittings that have air leaks.
• Consider applying temporary weather stripping on your windows to prevent heat loss. At least consider this option for rooms that get little use.

Safety Precautions

• Replace any outdoor bulbs that aren't working. Be sure to check all of your outdoor lighting fixtures, including motion detectors.
• Replace the batteries in existing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Purchase smoke and carbon monoxide detectors for any floor levels that do not have one and install them.
• Check all of the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are in working order.
• Trim shrubbery, bushes, and trees away from windows and doorways.
• Hire a professional to trim shrubbery, bushes, and trees away from electrical wiring.
• Consider investing in a few solar lighting fixtures in strategic places.

Tips and Pointers to Remember

Remember that you must take care of your home to provide the optimum level of security and comfort. A few dollars now can mean a large savings. Remember that you do not have to complete the winterizing of your home all in one day either. Use the first day to size up your projects and create a list for necessary purchases. Then, you can use another day to begin your work.

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