10 ways to prepare your home for cold weather

Winter is just around the corner. Here's what you can do now to get your home ready to withstand freezing temperatures.

Transcript

00:00 fall weather is in full swing and with winter nearing, experts say now is the

00:05 time to get your home ready to withstand freezing temperatures. Once a

00:09 year, have your heating system inspected by a professional. Also, you

00:13 want to check your furnace filters. You want to clean furnace filters in your

00:16 home so that way you breathe easily and a furnace is working easier for that

00:21 hot air to blow out throughout the home. You should also seal your windows and

00:24 doors to stop cold air from coming inside and warm air from escaping. If

00:29 there is a draft, some things we want to do, we want to caulk our windows and

00:32 also want to put window film on our windows, right? The window film and

00:36 caulking can potentially save up to 15% energy savings on your bill

00:40 throughout the winter. To prevent snow or rain damage, clear your gutters and

00:44 downspouts to keep out water and have your roof inspected for any leaks. It's

00:49 also important to locate and test your winter equipment and purchase anything

00:54 you may need. You want to go stock up right now for this. You want to

00:56 purchase a snowblower now to make sure you have it in stock and ready to go

01:01 while you're outside, drain and protect your outdoor faucets to prevent pipes

01:04 from freezing. You should also seal any holes where utilities and pipes enter

01:08 your home. It can prevent mice and rodents looking to escape the cold from

01:13 coming inside. Right now is a great time to start looking at trees and such

01:17 only around the outside of property because if a tree is touching the top

01:22 of a home, the roof, it only takes a millisecond for an animal to go from

01:28 that tree onto the house itself and find their way in. When it gets really

01:33 cold, many people love to cozy up to a roaring fire. Be sure to schedule a

01:37 chimney cleaning before using your fireplace. The reason why is if your

01:42 chimney is not, the chimney cap is not open properly, you can have carbon

01:46 dioxide in your home. You can see whether your smoke and carbon monoxide

01:50 detectors are working properly by clicking the test button on the unit.

01:54 You want one on every level of your house and near every single bedroom so

01:59 that everybody is protected in the home is safe for Accuweather. I'm Emmy

02:02 Victor.

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