by hewella1 Leave a Comment
I am not a fan of the winter months. I do love a good cup of hot cocoa and sitting by the fire but I hate being cold! I have found some affordable ways to winterize your home to help keep your house toasty and warm.
This will help you save on your energy bills without putting in a lot of up front costs.
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Winterize your Home on a Budget
Windows
Check your windows for any drafts. You can seal them using some caulk or weather stripping. You can also use blackout curtains to help keep the heat from escaping.
If you have large windows or sliding glass doors, you may want to invest in window shrink film. It helps keep your windows insulated and only costs around $10 for a kit.
Pipes
Make sure you have your pipes insulated before it gets to be freezing temperatures. You do not want to have to deal with frozen pipes!
You can buy pipe insulation at your local hardware store, just make sure you measure the diameter of your pipes so you know what size to get.
You can also leave the cabinet doors open to any pipes under the sink so that the air around them will be warmer.
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Chimney
Before you use your chimney this winter, make sure it is properly inspected and cleaned. So many fires happen every year due to chimneys.
It is also a big way to lose a lot of heat in your home. To make sure you use as little heat as possible, you can use a chimney balloon when it is not in use to help keep the heat from escaping.
Attic
Make sure your attic is well insulated, especially on the floors. You can always add more insulation if needed. You might want to also do this if you have an attached garage.
Make sure the walk-up to the attic is fully closed. You can add weather stripping around the door if you need to. This will keep any heat from escaping through the cracks.
More Ways to Winterize your Home
Indoors
Some other things you might want to do to winterize your home on a budget are:
- switch the ceiling fan rotation. You usually have the fans going counter clockwise in the summer to keep the house cooler. Switch them to go clockwise so that it will push the heat down from the ceiling.
- If you don’t have one already, invest in a programmable thermostat. It will save you the most percentage of your energy bill year round. You can lower the temperature when you sleep or aren’t at home to save more on energy costs.
- Make sure all the exterior doors don’t have any drafts. You can use weather stripping or door draft stoppers. These are fairly inexpensive and there are a lot of tutorials online if you are crafty and want to make your own.
- Change the air filters in your home. You should be doing this every month or so but you really want to make sure that they aren’t clogged with debris. This is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and make sure they are working properly.
- Another money saver is to insulate your water heater. Especially, if it is located in the basem*nt or garage. You can usually get a water heater blanket for around $20.
Outdoors
- Make sure your gutters are cleaned out really well. The leaves are starting to fall and they can cause a lot of clogs. You want the gutters to be clean so that the water will not pool up and freeze. This is how those nasty icicles form and can cause some damage.
- Speaking of ice, make sure that any trees are trimmed that might be hanging over your house or driveway. You don’t want them to get weighed down with snow and ice and come crashing down on your home or car.
- Make sure that all of your garden hoses are disconnected from the spouts. You can get some insulated caps to go over them to help prevent the outside pipes from freezing.
These are just a few affordable ways to winterize your home. It is time to get ready for the cold! What are some tips that you have to get your home ready for winter?
