Four Things to Do This Winter to Protect Your Home

Most winter home problems do not start in winter. They start with something small that nobody checked. A valve nobody could find. A filter nobody changed. A gap nobody sealed.

Here are four things I tell every homeowner in East Tennessee to do once the cold sets in. None of them take long.

Know Where Your Water Shutoff Is

If a pipe freezes and bursts, every minute counts. Find the main shutoff valve before you need it. Make sure everyone in the house knows where it is and how to turn it. If it is stuck or hard to reach, have it looked at now.

Change Your Furnace Filter

A clogged filter makes your heat pump or furnace work harder during the coldest weeks of the year. That means higher bills and more wear on a system that is expensive to replace. Check the filter. If you cannot remember the last time you changed it, change it today.

Seal the Drafts

Walk around the house on a cold day and feel along the doors and windows. Check the crawl space access and any spot where a pipe or wire goes through a wall. Small gaps let heat out and cold air in. A tube of caulk and some weatherstripping go a long way.

Test Your Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

You run the heat more in winter, so this is the time to check them. Press the test button on every alarm. Replace the batteries while you are at it. It takes ten minutes and it matters more than anything else on this list.

Do these four things and you will go into the cold months with a lot less to worry about. If you have questions about your home or what it might be worth, call or text us anytime.