Money Matters: Winterizing Your Home
By:
Updated: December 9, 2012
We are still a couple weeks away from Winter. Are your plans in place on how to stay warm?
With the mild weather we've had in Arkansas, it might not seem like it, but now is the time to get your home ready.
"Absolutely, this is the time to do it before it gets even colder," said Bob Markovich, Home & Yard Editor of Consumer Reports.
Markovich has compiled a to-do list for winterizing your home, starting with water hoses that should be disconnected and drained. Also, if possible, turn off the outdoor water supply.
"Because if you don't do that what can happen is the pipes can actually freeze, even if the outside spigot is turned off," said Markovich.
Frozen water is what you end up with in a clogged gutter, which can cause leaky structural damage on your rooftop.
While down below, close vents to keep cold air out of crawl spaces. And flip off the power to the compressor on your AC unit. It'll save energy and keep away rodents looking for a warm spot.
To make sure warm air stays in, Markovich says use the candle or incense smoke test.
"You basically want to hold that around the window frames, and if the smoke is going vertically, great. If you see any sort of horizontal movement, you've got a leak.
A leak can be fixed with caulk, weather strip or cheap plastic film.
With the mild weather we've had in Arkansas, it might not seem like it, but now is the time to get your home ready.
"Absolutely, this is the time to do it before it gets even colder," said Bob Markovich, Home & Yard Editor of Consumer Reports.
Markovich has compiled a to-do list for winterizing your home, starting with water hoses that should be disconnected and drained. Also, if possible, turn off the outdoor water supply.
"Because if you don't do that what can happen is the pipes can actually freeze, even if the outside spigot is turned off," said Markovich.
Frozen water is what you end up with in a clogged gutter, which can cause leaky structural damage on your rooftop.
While down below, close vents to keep cold air out of crawl spaces. And flip off the power to the compressor on your AC unit. It'll save energy and keep away rodents looking for a warm spot.
To make sure warm air stays in, Markovich says use the candle or incense smoke test.
"You basically want to hold that around the window frames, and if the smoke is going vertically, great. If you see any sort of horizontal movement, you've got a leak.
A leak can be fixed with caulk, weather strip or cheap plastic film.
