This post Winter is Coming appeared first on Daily Reckoning.
Dear Rich Lifer,
October has come and gone: the leaves have changed, Halloween is behind us, and winter is speedily approaching. If you happen to live, or own a home in an area that is prone to snow, ice, and freezing temperatures in the winter, then it is time to start preparing your home for the coming cold.
While winterizing your home may not be the most exciting task, doing so is crucial. Many of us tend to overlook the importance of winter-proofing our homes, and you may be surprised to learn how much you can save in the long run by taking a few simple steps.
Today, I will share with you 5 painless things you can do to winter-proof your home and, by doing so, save money.
Protect Your Outdoor Faucets
Leaving outdoor water sources on and exposed to the elements is a surefire way to invite frozen, bursting pipes and expensive repairs. While taking care of them may seem like an obvious step, it is one that many forget about as seasons change and temperatures drop.
You can shut off your home’s internal water valve so that no water is pooling in faucets and pipes, and open all of your external taps to make sure they are drained completely. Once you’ve emptied all your taps, pipes and garden hoses, if you live in a particularly frigid northern state, consider using insulated faucet-covers to provide some further protection.
You can find good quality covers from stores like Walmart or Home Depot for well under twenty dollars a piece that can be reused year after year. Which is much cheaper the $280 average price you would have to pay to fix just a single foot of water pipe damaged from water freezing in your pipes.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Clean Out Your Gutters
Whether you choose to do it yourself, borrow the services of a friend, neighbor, or family member, or you choose to hire a professional, cleaning out your gutters is crucial to prolonging the life of your roof.
By the time winter rolls around, your gutters have collected at 9 months worth of leaves, twigs, debris and maybe even a few frisbees, depending on your neighborhood. Failing to clean out your gutters before ice and snowfall grace your with their frosty presence creates a significant amount of added weight and stress on your gutters and roof.
That added weight can damage your roof over time and the debris left in gutters can make it nearly impossible for melting snow and ice to effectively drain, rendering your gutters essentially useless. Take care of this task now, before you end up paying to reattach or replace collapsed gutters.
Take Care of Your Furnace
Having a professional come in to service your furnace or gas heater may seem like an unnecessary expense, but in reality, you may be saving yourself from waking up with icicles hanging from your ears and a whammy of a repair bill in your hand.
Most companies charge under $100 to service a furnace or gas heater, and may even clean out your ducts for you (more on that in a minute). Regularly servicing your furnace will significantly increase the life and efficiency of your appliance.
And I’m not sure about you, but I’d much rather pay to have my furnace serviced than pay for a new one which will run you $5,000 for just the furnace. Installation and fees sold separately.
While you’re taking care of your furnace you should also…
Clean Your Air Filters and Ducts
If you’ve never taken the time to inspect your vents you may be surprised by the amount of dust, dirt, and allergens that gather inside over time.
If you don’t clean out your vents before turning on your heat, it means all that gunk will now be sent through the air and into your home, food, and lungs.
Cleaning out your vents and ducts before turning on your heat is not only more sanitary, it’s better for your health.
While you’re at it, you should also replace your furnace’s air filter to ensure your heated air is as clean as can be.
Seal Cracks and Gaps
Did you know that using a draft stopper could potentially save you 15% or more on your heating bill? If your doors and windows are far from new, they waste more energy than you may realize.
Placing a draft stopper in front of outside-connecting doors is a cheap and easy way to keep the heat inside where it belongs.
You should also check your windows to make sure you can’t feel a draft. Weather stripping on windows may need to be replaced, or if you fancy yourself a bit of a handyman, you can use caulk to seal a small gap yourself. So if you feel a draft, make sure you find the source.
While you’re walking around feeling doors and windows, you might as well inspect your outlets too. Outlets that are on your home’s outer walls should be insulated, but if the builders of your home cut corners, they may not be! If you feel a draft around your outlets, open them up and see if they are missing insulation. Fortunately, if they are, this is a cheap and easy fix.
While winter-proofing your home may seem like just another thing to add to an endless to-do list, it is a chore that has the potential to make your life significantly easier, and save you quite a bit of money on your heating bill this winter. Set yourself up for a budget-friendly, relaxing, and ‘no-surprises’ season, and winterize your home today!
To a richer life,
Nilus Mattive
The post Winter is Coming appeared first on Daily Reckoning.