Cooler Weather in the Air: 3 Ways To Winterize Your Home

As fall leaves drift to the ground and nights grow chillier, the rush is on to prepare homes, yards and pools for the winter months — and winter repairs ain’t cheap. Chimney fire damage and repairs start in the $1,000 range and have topped out around $50,000. Burst sprinkler lines in the ground can cost upwards of $2,000 to replace. Pools can also be expensive to repair if you don’t winterize them. Costs are high for new pumps, filters and liners. Prepare this winter and cut down on potential expenses from damages. While winter weather varies based on geographic location, every homeowner should prepare for the changing of the season, precipitation and temperatures.

Home Interiors

When it gets cooler out, homeowners start using their fireplaces and furnaces — and put themselves in danger of fires in the process. The U.S. Fire Administration reports that 36 percent of residential fires are caused by heating units, such as fireplaces and furnaces. There also fire hazards with certain types of lamps and lighting. If you want to prevent this, you can go with some kind of LED or track lighting from a retailer like Interior-Deluxe.com, where there are plenty of safer lighting options, including energy efficient lighting as well.

There are ways to clean a chimney yourself, but it requires preparation and tools. Soot and creosote are not only dangerous to inhale, but can also ruin rugs, flooring and furniture. To clean a chimney and fireplace yourself, have plenty of tarp around the area and cover the entire room the fireplace is in. You should also wear a heavy-duty mask, goggles and gloves. A chimney rod, chimney brush, bucket, small shovel, broom, vacuum cleaner, and flashlight are all needed to clean the inside of the chimney from the ground up.

Chimney sweeps done from the roof should be completed by a professional because it can be extremely dangerous. Hire a profession to clean and inspect your chimney annually, advises fireplace purveyor NorthlineExpress.

Also, put out the fire in your chimney when you go to bed at night or leave the house. Ashes need to be cooled completely before removal. Every fireplace should have glass doors covering the front, and they should be closed when the fireplace isn’t in use. If glass doors aren’t an option, a mesh screen can be an alternative.

Yard & Landscape

Ever heard of “pipes bursting” when they freeze with water in them during the winter months? Bursting pipes doesn’t just happen to the water or the hose sitting outside, it can also happen to your irrigation system and sprinklers in the front and back yards.

Prevent damage to the sprinkler system by draining it. This can be done quickly and easily without bringing in a professional or outside company. First, the water needs to be turned off. Next, if the irrigation system has a timer or controller, shut it off. Valves and backflow preventers need to be removed, drained, and stored in a safe and dry location. Remove water from pipes via Shop Vac or blowout methodology.

If you live in a more temperate climate, there’s no need to drain the irrigation system. There are various ways to winterize the system so it performs at an optimal level. If the task of draining the sprinkler and irrigation system becomes too difficult, many landscape companies offer winterizing services.

Pool Maintenance

Installing an inground pool liner can help with not only the winterizing process, but also with year-round pool maintenance. Vinyl pool liners withstand bad weather and are durable. Darker pool liners can also keep a pool warmer in direct sunlight. If the pool is partially drained and covered for winter, algae doesn’t build up as much as it would with a concrete or fiberglass pool.