Winter's Holiday Beauty Turning into a New Year's Beast?
When temperatures drop and Old Man Winter comes knocking at your door, who doesn’t need a little extra TLC? Well, your home is no different. That’s right; rain, snow, sleet, hail… they all can wreak havoc on your home’s exterior. So, while you’re considering your list of New Year’s resolutions this week, add some winter home maintenance to the list to protect your home from winter weather. What can you do to give your home the TLC it needs to make it through a long and cold or even a short and mild winter? Here are three winter home care tips that you won’t want to skip: Preventative Maintenance Of course, the best way to take care of your home for the winter is to take action before winter weather even hits! Seasonal winter maintenance includes checking your roof for potential leaks or damaged shingles, cleaning out your chimney and gutters and fortifying the weather-stripping around your windows and doors. These winter maintenance moves will help to prevent icicles from forming or, worse yet, ice dams from building up. They’ll also prevent leaks inside your home, cold air from rushing in and they could even make your home more energy-efficient! Snow and Ice Removal Snow and ice are sure to accompany Old Man Winter when he comes to town during the next few months. How can you get rid of these unwanted guests that gather on your driveway and the walkways around your home? Keep a solid stock of salt, sand or other de-icer around. Make sure that your snow shovel and snow blower are in a convenient, easily-accessible location and that you have plenty of gasoline to power your winter maintenance tools. Keeping up with snow and ice removal each time it snows is a great way to prevent outdoor accidents around your home. But, if snow or ice begins to build up, it is important to shovel it away from your home when you are able to get rid of it. Doing so will help to prevent water leakage inside your home as the snow and ice melt. Tree Trimming No, this is not some leftover holiday advice. Yes, snow-covered tree branches are beautiful; but, snow and ice are sure to weigh down tree and shrub branches. So, if you’ve got trees and shrubs near your home, try to trim back any branches that may be looming overhead before a big winter snow hits. Trimming low tree branches will help to protect your home from winter storm damage. Plus, keeping branches away from your driveway and walkways near your home also can help to protect your vehicles and anyone walking by. As you prepare for Old Man Winter’s arrival this year, be comfortable knowing that you’ve done everything you can to protect your home from the damage that ice and snow can cause. If you take a few steps to protect your home before bad winter weather hits, your spring home maintenance should go much smoother!
