Helpful Winterization Tips for Your Home
Thorough winterization ensures that even in the worst of the Delaware and Maryland area’s cold spells, you’ll stay comfortably warm without running up outrageous energy bills. Winterization also prevents costly damage such as pipe bursts and roof leaks.
Protect Your Plumbing
Temperatures of 20 degrees and lower put your pipes at risk for freezing, even when you’re heating the house. For basic pipe winterization, install foam pipe insulation sized to fit completely and snuggly around the pipes. Repairing cracks in your home’s exterior and sealing your crawl space also helps keep your pipes and your whole house warmer in winter.
When you’re expecting low temperatures, turn your faucets on just enough to allow a slow drip. A constant flow of water through the pipes reduces the risk of ice formation. If you have a sink installed on an exterior wall, keep the cabinet open so warmth from the house reaches the pipes. To prevent air leaks, any gaps around the pipe where it penetrates the wall should be sealed with caulk.
Bundle Up Your Home
Clean your gutters to remove debris that blocks the flow of rain and snow melt. Backed up water can damage your roof and eventually cause leaks. Good winterization in the attic further protects your roof by preventing ice dams. Seal air leaks around the access hatch, vent stacks and chimneys using caulk and metal flashing as needed. After this, make sure your attic has at least an R-49 layer of insulation.
Proper caulking and weatherstripping of doors, windows, pipe and wiring penetrations and other typically leaky areas cuts down on heat loss. To weatherize your windows, apply window insulation film and hang heavy drapes. To block drafts coming down your fireplace chimney, install a chimney balloon. These balloons are easy to remove whenever you want to use the fireplace.
At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.
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