How To Get Your Home Ready For The Winter Season

The winter season is drawing near, which means we’ve got around six months of subzero temperatures to ‘look forward’ to. Along with this, we have much longer and darker nights coming, with potential snowfall and arctic winds all to come. The joys of winter!

protect your home during the winter months

It may sound dull and boring, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about how to protect your home during the winter months. Your home is open to any potential damage from what the frigid temperatures and snow may bring. Taking charge of this now, before it is too late, may help you avoid a home insurance claim later on, and also give you the peace of mind your home in all winter-ready.

When it’s dark and icy outside, there’s nothing worse than having to deal with gaps in your walls, leaking windows, touch-and-go heating or burst pipes.

Here are five handy tips and tricks to bear in mind, which will help prevent any unfortunate winter mishaps or water damage this season.

1. Check your boiler

Most boilers are meant to be checked every year – especially newer ones to keep them under the guarantee. But if you have an old one, it’s possibly even more crucial to have it checked by a professional. If your boiler goes bust in the thick of winter, you’re going to be one unhappy and very cold person (or family, if you have a family living in one house).

A check each autumn will help ensure your boiler is running properly and efficiently. This will ensure a winter of hot water and heating.

2. Have a power back-up

Sometimes there is nothing you can physically do to stop a power cut. You could have the best heating system and the newest of boilers, but when a power outage happens, you’re left with no power supply which is out of your hands.

Portable generators have become more and more popular over the years, becoming essential as a backup in homes across the world. You’ll find those who live in more remote areas, or parts of the world prone to thunderstorms and extreme weather, rely on them each winter when they need an extra source of power.

You can get all kinds of shapes, sizes and voltages these days. have a great range to look at it you need to browse the different types available.

3. Inspect all windows and doors for leaks.

In order to prevent heat loss, make sure your windows and doors are properly sealed. It’s key to check the weather-stripping around windows and door frames, and replace where necessary. Similar to this is to also check for drafts around the house – are there any small corners which seem to be letting in a draft?


Sealing these and correcting them now will ensure that this winter, you will have a home that keeps the heat in and the cold out.

4. Clean out your gutters

This is a very unglamorous one, but such an important one for unclogging your gutters. It’s important your house gutters are free of any debris such as leaves, dirt and sticks. Especially after autumn, with all the falling leaves.

prevent the draining of rain and melting snow which could result in household leaks. Also, make sure your downspouts extend away from your house by at least five feet to ensure that water runs away from your house and not towards it.

5. Inspect your roof

If you can, it’s really useful to get up to your roof to inspect it thoroughly for any missing or loose tiles/slates. Only do this if it is safe to do so, or try to stand right back and look at your roof from the ground as best you can.

If your roof needs attention, call a professional roofer to help you with the repairs or maintenance. Also, ask them to look around the chimney and air vents and assess for any damage. It’s also the worst time of year for any birds to be making a home in your loft – so make sure there are no open gaps.

Taking the time to winter-proof your home is a small price to pay, especially if it helps to prevent damages. Now is also a good time to stock up on all the winter essentials too, like portable heaters, blankets, water bottles and snow shovels. You never know what you’re going to need.

It won’t go to waste and you’ll need them before you know it!

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