7 Tips to prepare your home for the winter

December 4th, 2012  |  Home Insurance

Preparing your home for the winter is an important part of being a homeowner. It helps to ensure that your home is prepared for the harsh winter weather and, overtime, it keeps you home in better condition, reducing the need for repairs that are commonly required due to neglect.

Here are some tasks that all homeowner should consider doing to keep their home in prime condition:

1. Clean the gutters: Cleaning the gutters is more important than most people think. Making sure that water can properly drain off the roof will protect your home from ice build-up and ice damming.
2. Change/clean the furnace filter: Make sure that your furnace is working as efficiently as possible will not only save you on your energy bill, but also can reduce any potential malfunctions that could pose a threat to your family.
3. Get out the snow blower and shovels: Before it gets too cold and snows get out your shovels and take your snow blower in for a tune up.
4.  Clean your chimney/fireplace: If you have a fireplace, it is important to get your chimney cleaned before you use it. You never know what may have gotten in their over the summer.
5. Do a home inspection: Performing a home inspection needs to be completed annually. Check your foundation, examine your roof, and look for any cracks in the walls that could result in lost energy.
6. Review your home insurance: Since we are getting close to the end of the year, now is a good time to review your home insurance plan to make sure that your coverage still meets your needs. Think about what changes with your home over the past year and how this will impact your home insurance needs.
7. Get your yard in order: Time to put away all your summer toys and bring out your winter tools to keep your home safe and sound.
8. Inspect windows and doors: Inspecting your windows and doors is important to ensure there are no cracks and they are not leaving any energy. 

While these tasks will only take a few hours to complete, they have more of an impact on the well-being of your home than you think.