10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Freezing Weather
If you haven’t already prepped your home for winter, or maybe you’re not certain you did what you should for these cold temperatures, we’ve come up with 10 helpful things you can do to ensure your home is prepared for the freezes. Stay warm out there!
1. Open cabinet doors
If you have any pipes along your outside walls for a bathroom or kitchen sink for instance, keep the cupboard or vanity doors open to allow the warm air to circulate to the pipes. This will help them not freeze and hence, not crack and burst and cause a catastrophe at home.
2. Check your spigots + disconnect your hose
Perhaps one of the simplest steps you can take to protect your home during a freeze is disconnecting your garden hoses! If you have a shut-off valve inside your home, turn off the water here and leave the spigot open. If not, simply turn off the water. Cover the spigot with an insulated faucet cover such as this here.
3. Leave faucets running at a trickle
Leave faucets running very slowly, three to four drips per minute at most, so water continues to move through the lines. It is much more difficult for moving water to freeze than if it were standing still.
4. Locate water shut off valve + know how to use it
In the case that you need to shut off your water quickly, it’s imperative that you know how to do so. If you’re not certain, you can contact your local water company, and a kind neighbor may be able to assist too!
5. Close foundation vents to your home
These are the little vents on the outside of your home at the foundation. Some vents have plastic flaps that close, and even if yours has these, we still suggest using the vent covers to protect the underside of your home where many, if not most, of your pipes are. This will also help with your heating bill, and save you some money over time. You can see examples of foundation vents here.
6. Open doors/vents to your attic + basement
Keeping these spaces warm will help ensure that your pipes don’t freeze when the cold weather hits.
7. Change your Furnace filter
You want to be sure the system is running well and does not shut down from a clogged filter. These should be changed every 3-6 months, and will also extend the life of your HVAC, as well as keep the air cleaner in your home. We suggest using filters with a MERV Rating between 14-16. Take note: Higher MERV Ratings aren’t always better, so do your research so you aren’t prohibiting airflow with too much filtration. Here are some options here.
8. Turn up your thermostat
Make sure you leave the heat on at all times during a cold snap, even if you’re not at home during the day. Make sure the thermostat is set to at least mid 50’s to 60 degrees throughout the cold snap. You can even use space heathers in areas that may have less than advantageous areas of heating in your home.
9. Caulk windows and doors and block the breeze
If you didn’t have a chance to caulk around your windows and doors during fall, and don't have weather stripping on hand, an ordinary towel can be a real help. Place a rolled-up towel on any windowsill or at the bottom of your doors to block drafts. You can usually feel the drafts, and can also use a piece paper in some cases where there’s a strong enough draft. Again, this can make a huge difference, not just in your comfort but also in your heating bill. Our doggie door wasn’t fully shutting, so we placed a fan in front of it for a few days when temperatures reached 4 degrees to help keep it shut and keep that below freezing air outside where it belonged!
10. Check carbon monoxide detectors
Make sure your carbon monoxide detectors are in solid, working order. This is a great idea to do anyway, but it’s particularly important if you’re using a fireplace or wood-burning stove, or if you didn’t have a chance to have your heating system inspected this fall. Speaking of fireplace, if you didn’t get your fireplace cleaned/sweeped out, this is also recommended.
Keep reading for more tips + tricks.
As always, if you’re thinking of listing your home, or if you don’t own a home, condo or similar, and are interested in buying, let me know so I can help walk you through the current market conditions, as well as all the resources and referrals I have from my many years of success in the industry for any repairs you might want help with. As a 10 year, Five Star Real Estate Agent, knowing that no matter what is happening in the economy, and especially now, you need a professional real estate broker as your ally…and you’ll be in great hands with my team!
Please reach out, I’m here to assist and help you #moveforward,
Teresa Catania, Broker
West + Main Homes
West + Main Homes Oregon
Bend Oregon | Central Oregon | Portland Oregon
503-740-3293
teresa@teresacatania.com
5 Star Real Estate Agent