Winterizing Your Home

Winter may still officially be more than a month away, but it is time to start preparing your house for the cold. After all, many places in California are already starting to feel the effects of winter. You do not want to wait until it is too cold to do anything, or until something breaks due to the cold. You need to prepare, and now is the time to do it.

Here are a few things you should do around the house before things get too cold:

>Insulate pipes. Whether the pipe in your yard, or under you house, you should make sure that it is properly insulated. Water expands when it freezes. If it freezes in a pipe, it can break the pipe and cause a damaging leak.
• Fill any gaps in your exterior walls. Gaps in the outside walls of your house let cold air in, and they can also serve as an entrance to any unwelcome creatures seeking shelter from the cold. You can get some expansion foam to fill these gaps. Just spray a little in, and watch it expand to fill the hole./li>
  

• Check the weather stripping around sliding doors. These can wear down over time, which will allow cold air inside. This can be easily prevented by purchasing replacement weather stripping. Most replacement strips have adhesive tape on the back, so all the homeowner has to do is pull off the old weather stripping, and stick on the new one./li>
  

• Switch your ceiling fan directions. Most people do not realize that their ceiling fans have a winter setting. This simply reverses the direction the fan spins so that it will push the warm air that rose to the ceiling down along the walls./li>
  

• Check your smoke detectors. This one doesn’t necessarily go with winterizing, but it is important nonetheless. Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are still working properly./li>

These are just a few tips to help keep your home safe and warm this winter season.