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Preparing your home for winter
Posted on 4 December, 2017
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We’ve been pretty lucky so far this winter with the weather, with nothing overly dramatic or cold. However with the coldest winter months soon to be upon us we’ve put together the following tips to help keep your home safe and secure this winter:
Get your boiler serviced – two-thirds[i] of people admit that they have never had their boiler serviced. Going into winter it’s more important than ever to check your boiler is in good working order.
Not only to make sure it’s not emitting potentially life threatening carbon monoxide, but so you don’t end up with it breaking down and having no heating or hot water at the coldest time of the year.
Insulate pipes – make sure any water overflow pipes or other pipes that may be exposed to cold temperatures are insulated. Frozen pipes will stop your boiler working and mean having to call someone round to fix it. Plus they could potentially burst causing flood damage to your home.
Check your guttering – leaves falling from trees during autumn can cause your guttering to get blocked up, which can lead to leaks in the home during heavy rainfall. Make sure yours are clean and water can drain away freely.
Prepare your garden – cut back over grown trees and branches, trim bushes and put plants that might get frost damage in your greenhouse or bring indoors. Repair any damage to fencing as well as high winds and storms could cause fences to fall down.
Check your roof – lose tiles or slates can encourage water to penetrate, which potentially can cause a lot of damage to your home. If you can’t get up on the roof yourself safely, call out a reputable handyman to take a look for you.
Invest in some timer switches – the darker winter nights can encourage opportunistic burglars. If you are going away or even just going out for the evening make your home looks occupied by having a few lights come on after 4.30pm.
Obviously you can’t prepare for every eventuality but doing these few things will make you more prepared than most for winter. If you are planning on going on holiday during winter, employing a homesitter can be an extra safe guard for your home.
Homesitters will keep your home looking occupied and will immediately take care of any issues that might arise, such as a leaky roof or burst pipes – minimising any damage. They will also look after any pets, and for dogs and cats especially, staying in their home environment is preferable.
If you are busy planning your holiday and have concerns about home security or want a friendly and reliable person to look after your pets, please get in touch on 01296 630 730
[i] https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/871602/Winter-weather-tricks-to-prepare-home-for-winter
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