Your winter home checklist
Keeping your home safe and sound during the winter is important because, let’s face it, the harsh winter weather can wreak havoc on both the interior and exterior of our homes. Not everyone is as good with a hammer as Mike Holmes and that’s OK, this is where a winter home checklist can come in handy.
The truth is, home maintenance is a lot of work, but it’s important to maintain the property and keep our most valuable (and expensive) asset safe until spring arrives. If you do have an incident during the winter, contact your home insurance provider as soon as possible to get an estimate for the damage, and get it repaired as fast as possible.
The good news is that mishaps can be avoided with a little bit of planning. Winter maintenance can be very easy, and completed within a weekend or two.
Here are three DIY maintenance tips for your winter home checklist:
Shovel your walkway
The last thing homeowners need is a slip and fall accident on their property. Keeping your walkway free and clear of snow and ice ensures that all family and friends will be safe when coming and going – as well as the mailman. If there’s not a clear pathway to your door, Canada Post may not deliver your mail.
Readers Digest says that shovelling snow away from the foundation of your home can help prevent water damage. “The key to avoiding foundation deterioration and expensive repairs is to prevent water from pooling around the base of your house.”
Sweep your chimney
Is sweeping the chimney on your winter home checklist? It should be. When you think about a chimney sweeper you may think of Mary Poppins, but cleaning your chimney doesn’t need to be that messy. Regularly cleaning your chimney is important because as fires burn the chimney eventually gets blocked up, meaning smoke can’t move freely. If the smoke can’t exit through the top of the chimney it will leave through the bottom (i.e. your home) – which leads to smoke and soot damage in your home.
Homeowners can hire a professional chimney sweeper, but it’s expensive. You can also try and clean the chimney yourself, but during the winter isn’t the best time to climb a ladder onto your roof top. The best course of action is to buy a cleaning log at your local hardware store to burn away the debris build up.
Make sure your home is safe
It’s no secret that the holidays spark an increase in thefts and home invasions. That’s why protecting your home should be on your winter home checklist. If you’re headed to warmer climates during the winter, keep your home safe by ensuring windows are locked, doors are protected and your garage is closed.
It’s a good idea to ask a neighbour to take care of minor home maintenance, such as getting mail and shovelling the walkway. This way it doesn’t look like you’re not home to potential threats. If you spend large chunks of time away from home, installing an alarm system can help keep your home safe.