The ultimate Winter Checklist for Utah homes
Chilly temperatures, cloudy skies and an increasing amount of Christmas tunes... This can only mean one thing: winter is almost here! If you live in Salt Lake City or along the Wasatch front, you’ve probably already noticed the weather is changing. This is a key time for any Utah home owner to prepare their house for the upcoming season.
If you’ve been following our seasonal Home Maintenance Checklists, you have already done most of the work necessary to prepare your house for the colder weather. In our Fall Checklist, we mentioned the importance of cleaning your gutters, checking your roof and making sure all your safety devices are up and running.
But there’s more! Here are the most important home maintenance tasks that you want to check off your list this winter:
Bleed your Radiators
If your Utah home has radiators, make sure that you are bleeding those at least once a year. Ideally, you’d want to do this before you start using them to heat up your home, so this home maintenance chore should be on the top of your priority list.
If you’ve never done this before, don’t despair! It isn’t difficult, and we found this short tutorial that will walk you through all the steps. Handle only one radiator at a time, and start with the one closest to your boiler.
Turn up & Trap the Heat
If you haven’t checked your home for any air leaks this past Fall or Summer, this is the time to do so. Weatherstripping your windows and doors will keep the valuable warm air where it’s supposed to be: inside of your cozy home. Don’t forget to close any foundation vents if you have them, this crawl space ventilation might be helpful during the hot summer months, but it could be increasing your utility bill in the winter.
Pro-tip: if your Utah home has hardwood floors, it’s time to roll out a large area rug. Not only does this add another snug and stylish layer to your interior, but it also serves as extra insulation. You might also want to consider purchasing thermal curtains to avoid cold air coming through the window seals.
If your ceiling fan has the option to reverse its direction, make the switch to make the fan blades run clockwise. This can push heated air down, which is especially important if you have high ceilings.
Are you one of the lucky Utah homeowners that has a fireplace? There’s nothing like the warmth and the crackling sounds of a fire to make you unwind after a long day. However, it’s up to you to make sure that your fireplace is only a source of relaxation, not an added risk for your home’s safety. Have your chimney cleaned out and establish clear guidelines on fireplace usage amongst all family members before igniting the first flames of the season. This guide, “9 Tips to Safely Gather Around Your Fireplace this Winter” has excellent tips for how to safely use and maintain your fireplace.
Avoid Ice Dams
Ice dams can form at the edge of your roof, and can prevent effective drainage of melt water. If the melted snow stays trapped on your roof, the water can leak into your roof, soak your insulation material and even reach your ceiling. This would cause serious damage, especially if the trapped moisture turns into mold in your insulation layers.
This guide on Utah Ice Damming explains the importance of keeping your entire roof the same temperature, and outlines the steps to avoid ice dams.
Clean Your Air Ducts
Winter is the season you’re likely spending the most time inside your home. The air in your house should only be filled with the fragrance of pumpkin spice baked goods, an oversized turkey baking in the oven and grandpa’s slightly-too-strong cologne. One thing that your home’s air should not contain is allergens, mold or dust. Prevent the spread of harmful organisms by having your air ducts cleaned. Read this guide to discover whether or not your home is suffering from indoor air pollution or fill out an inquiry form to schedule your air vent cleaning now.
Weatherproof Exterior Pipes
You’ve already disconnected all garden hoses and drained the exterior pipes this Fall, but there are more steps to avoid cracked, frozen pipes for the winter. Inspect all exterior pipes to make sure none of the pipes are damaged. Moisture on faucets and connectors could indicate that a replacement or repair is necessary, which you’d want to do before the first frost. Even if you have already drained all your exterior pipes, it will be beneficial to check back a few days later to make sure there’s really no water remaining. It might be a tedious task now, but it’s much less work than cleaning up the mess of a flooded basement if one of your pipes does crack!
Take Care of your Pool
If you’re keeping your pool open this winter, you’ll want to invest in a good cover. A cover does more than keep bugs, leaves and dust out of the water; it also traps the heat by up to 50%. Also double check that you have the right pool heater to maintain the right temperature this Winter. This guide is specifically for Utah pool owners and will help you determine the next steps for your pool maintenance this Winter.
Prepare for Winter Storms
Northern Utah, the Wasatch Mountains and central Utah can experience quite heavy snowfall or winter storms at times. It’s better to prepare for the worst now than the scramble for the right supplies and tools when it’s needed.
Double check that your generator is working, and store an extra, enclosed tank of fuel for it. A stash of batteries and a few flashlights in several places throughout the home will also be helpful. A battery-powered radio will allow you to receive emergency news or weather updates if your phone can’t be charged in case of a blackout, or if there’s no cell reception. This is also a great time to make sure you have a snow shovel and ice scraper.
Annual Home Maintenance Tasks
There’s always so much to do in and around the house, it’s no wonder you might feel overwhelmed! This checklist will help you keep track of all the small home maintenance tasks for this Winter.
If you work through a preventative checklist instead of waiting for things in your home to break, you’re more likely to catch any necessary repairs early and save a lot of money, or prevent the need to spend money altogether!.
Related: Your Summer Checklist to Maintain Your Utah Home
Every season, we’ll give you some specific tasks that need to happen at least once a year. Here are a few to cross off your list this fall:
Clean your dryer vents and replace your HVAC system filters again
Check kitchen hood filter (and clean or replace if necessary)
Flush your hot water tank to remove sediment.
Dust off any light bulbs or lamps that haven’t been used in a while and check for dead bugs (unless you like the smell of fried mosquito)
Stock up on batteries and light bulbs to make replacements easier (you’ll thank yourself later!)
Prepare the entrance of your house for any muddy boots and other wet shoes by placing mats both inside and outside the door, and boot trays inside the entryway.
Grease your garage door springs
Check and re-grout tile in all bath and kitchen areas, as needed, and apply a silicone sealer.
Add copper sulfate to basement floor drain and downspout drains to control tree roots in main sewer.
If you follow this Home Maintenance schedule and take great care of your Utah home, your house will take care of you for many more years to come.
With the peace of mind that your house is in good shape, you can now focus on the truly important things this season. Your house will be a warm welcome for your family and your guests this Winter.