Winter Home Maintenance Tips

Romantically speaking, home is where the heart is. Practically speaking, maintaining a private residence requires constant attention to detail and

a lot of hard work, at least for the avid DIY-er. If you’re more the

“let’s hire the professional” type, here are a few things you should get done around the house before too much of winter gets past you.Winter Home Maintenance Tips

Clean the fireplace

A fireplace should be professionally cleaned once a year, and especially in the early fall or winter before you start using it again. The more you use it, the greater the build-up of creosote, a highly flammable oil produced by coal or wood ash smoke that resides inside your chimney. Failure to remove it can result in a chimney fire which can have dire consequences.

Check your plumbing pipes

The older your home and its water pipes, the greater need to have those pipes examined before outdoor temperatures turn frigid. When water builds up in pipes and freezes, it can cause leaks, cracks and breaks.

Instead of waiting for that to happen, ask your plumber about the best way to insulate your pipes and prevent them from freezing.

Inspect your roof

Winter can be particularly tough on your roof. That’s why you need to have it checked regularly for signs of damage.

Weather conditions, for example, can cause shingles and tiles to break and create exposed areas where leaks and holes can form, thus allowing which water to work its way indoors.

Hang extra window treatments

Consider hanging extra curtains throughout your home to help keep as much heat as possible indoors.

On sunny days, open them and let the light in to warm up the rooms; at night, close them tightly to keep the warm air in and cold air out.

Thermal curtains offer added lining for increased insulation.

Assess your insulation

Attic insulation protects your ceilings from air leakage. If your insulation is worn from years of weather or pest infestations,

your heating system is working double time to counter cold air coming from the attic.

Now’s a great time to have a professional check your attic insulation and, as appropriate, recommend improvements or replacing it.

Here at Air Professionals, we offer a very important winter home maintenance service: our multi-step heating system cleaning and inspection.

It’s a service we recommend once a year – and so does your system manufacturer – to help keep repair costs at a minimum, extend your system’s lifespan, and reduce your home heating costs.

For more information or to schedule service, contact Air Professionals today.

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