Homes need to prepare for winter weather, too
We prepare ourselves for the winter with gloves, hats and jackets, but we can’t prepare our homes for the winter in the same way.
With fireplaces already turning on for the early cold weather, “This time of year people are going to start using auxiliary heat sources so fireplaces, wood stoves, those types of things,” Boone County Fire Protection District Division Chief Gale Blomenkamp said. “Before you use those make sure you have your chimney cleaned and inspected.”
Heating and air conditioning companies recommend never letting your home get below 55 degrees because temperatures that low inside combined with colder outside temperatures can cause frozen pipes.
Winterizing your home and cutting down on energy costs are two things that go hand and hand.
Menard’s General Manager Obi Agusiobo said it’s important to insulate pipes for the winter.
“As far as your pipes freezing, you need to make sure you drain the pipes, cover your spout outside the house and also make sure that you use pipe installation,” he said.
Blomenkamp and Agusiobo both warned against winter-time gutter damage.
“As we transition from summer to fall that’s when the leaves start to fall, and they start to fall inside your gutter, if you do not clean those leaves out they can retain water from the rain or the snow and as they retain that water, the gutters start to feel the weight, they get heavy and the gutter could break,” Agusiobo said.
He said the goal is,”keeping warm air inside the house and cold air outside,” and recommended using a door seal to minimize any cold air from escaping a warm home.
“You come to your door and realize that cold air is coming in, that means hot air is also escaping making your house inefficient and driving up your energy prices,” Agusiobo said.
Heating and air conditioning companies also say programming your thermostat is one of the most efficient ways to run the heat.
