Winter Is Here, But It's Not Too Late For Winterizing Your Home

For many in the United States, this has already been a hard winter when it comes to weather. But you can still make changes to minimize the impact of the coming months.

One of the more dreaded tasks for many homeowners, especially if you live in a harsh environment, is making sure your home and property survive the assault of winter weather. While it is true the people in the more temperate regions regions of the country have less to deal with in terms of snow and ice, winter takes it's toll nonetheless.

And, although many people were able to prepare their yards and homes during the fall, this year's weather caught many homeowners off guard. They still have repairs to be made, things to put away safely, and have a growing list of junk items to be hauled away.

Although most folks surely intended for these things to be done before winter, properly preparing your home can still be done during winter, as well.

Proper Winterizing Saves Money

Not only can you take simple steps to help your pipes and gutters, but winterizing the inside of your home can bring significant savings in both repair bills and energy bills. For large parts of the country, the freezing weather has already wreaked havoc on property and driven up home heating costs.

But now that it is the middle of winter already, where should you start, and what can still be done?

This handy infographic offers a quick checklist of nine things you can still do to winterize your home:

More Things You Can Do During Winter

Even if you are already hard hit by the weather now, you'll benefit by preparing for the rest of the season now. Here are some additional money-saving tips for winter weather preparation.

Keep Your Gutters Cleaned

All the leaves and grime that keep building up in your gutters can lead to repeatedly clogged gutters and drains. Depending on where you live, the freezing rain and snow can form ice dams that prevent your drainage systems from working properly. Left undone, this can lead to water seeping into your home, which can lead to major repair issues.

Make a point of cleaning your gutters and drains as often as you can. When you do, check your gutters for misalignments that could also cause water damage. If you haven't already, you can still add extensions to downspouts so that water runs at least three to four feet away from the foundation of your home.

Cold Air Leaks

Air leaks in your home will allow warm air to escape out of any cracks and can make your heating system work harder, costing you more for heating the house.  By adding or replacing weather-stripping around doors, you can minimize or prevent this from happening. Properly sealed doors means you cannot see any daylight from inside the doors.

Use caulk to seal cracks and openings between fixed components like door frames and use weather-stripping to seal moving fixtures like an operable window. Check the joints in window and door frames, and use silicone caulk for exterior use since it won't shrink and it’s impervious to the elements.

Residential Furnaces Needs Upkeep, Too

Your furnace may be working overtime this year and the costs could be going up, as well.  It's not too late to clean your system and get it inspected.

If you don't want to do it yourself, you can hire a pro. A technician can inspect your furnace or heat pump to be sure the system is clean and running properly. The inspection also measures carbon-monoxide leakage. Also, during the winter you should change your filter regularly since a dirty filter will decrease air flow and energy-efficiency. 

Keep Your Ducts Clean and Leak-free

Homes with central heating can lose about 20% of the air that moves through the duct system. If you are seeing dust on surfaces in your house soon after you just dusted and cleaned, it's a good sign that your air ducts need cleaning. Another sign the ducts need cleaning is if you see dark lines under doors or around air ducts. Make sure your ducts are in order by properly sealing and insulating them.

It is estimated that homeowners lose 25 to 40 percent in additional energy costs due to inefficient heating, according to the U. S. Department of Energy. In the winter season, you can definitely benefit from added efficiency. In fact, properly sealed and insulated ducts can potentially reduce your annual energy bills by over $100 on average.

Doing It Yourself Versus Hiring Professionals

Much of what needs to be done when winterizing a home can be done fairly easily by the homeowner. Some tasks, such as chimney cleaning or roof inspections, are often better left to the professionals. While this may cost more initially, the convenience and peace of mind knowing that these tasks have been done properly are worth it.

Winter junk hauling can fall is also something you could do yourself, but this usually requires a truck and possibly some extra hands. In addition, there are the costs for gas, for disposal fees, and the possibility that you may not be able to dispose of everything in your local landfill. Not to mention the work and dealing with the weather.

Hiring a professional firm is a great option when it comes to junk hauling in winter.

Who to Call for Your Junk Hauling Needs

Once you decide to outsource the junk hauling part of your winterizing project, you need to determine which firm is the right one for the job. And while you can certainly find plenty of guys with trucks willing to do the job, choosing that alternative may end up costing you more than you hoped to save. This is why Junk King really is the firm of choice.

Junk King provides an efficient, safe and eco-friendly waste disposal service so you don’t need to worry about the pick up or disposal of the debris after your project is complete. Whether you need our services several times during a project or just once after it is complete, our hauling professionals will ensure that the debris is out of your way so that you can get on with the job.

Our team specializes in commercial and residential junk removal. We can be at your home in mere minutes, so call us today! Our crew is fully insured and well-trained, so you can trust them to get rid of your unwanted items in a professional and courteous fashion.

One of the best things about hiring Junk King is that we recycle a much of the material we pick-up. This is proof of our commitment to being an eco-friendly removal service. If you have questions about what we do or what we believe, give us a call at (707) 744-4254.