With temperatures fast creeping back to single digits, it’s time to prepare your house for those chilly winter months. To make sure your home survives the chilly weather – and you don’t waste energy in the process – there are a handful of easy tips to cosy up to.
Check for leaks
While this isn’t as easy to check before the rain comes, it’s important to check whether your roof and walls can handle a heavy downpour of rain. An easy way to test whether there may be cracks along the windows of the house is using a lit candle – watching for the flame to flicker to find out where cool winds may be entering the house. Not only will this protect the house from permanent water damage, but will save on energy costs from not allowing the heat to escape.
Clean that gutter
Following the issue of water leaks, the root cause of this could come from congested gutters and downspouts. Cleaning the house’s gutters will help get all that water away from your roof and – hopefully – properly directed to a pipe below. Be sure to check those downspouts for blockages – the drainage system shouldn’t allow for pooling water to then sit at windowsills and doorframes.
Swap those summer sheets
Nothing beats a warm, cosy bed to jump into after a long day. Those thin summer blankets aren’t going to hold much warmth with the drop in temperature. If you have winter bedding – or extra blankets to pop on top – add these to your bed to make nights a lot more comfortable. The more you’re able to keep warmth in the bed, the less heating you’ll need to put on.
Insulate your garage doors
Assuming your house has adequate insulation in the roof space, the next spot that could do with an insulated upgrade is your garage door. If your garage is attached to your house, it’s best to insulate the garage door to ensure the heat is retained in the house – this saves energy costs as well. Seeing as at least a third of the front of your home is the garage door, this is an easy escape for the warmer temperatures inside. Gryphon’s insulated garage doors don’t just keep the house warm during winter; your house will stay cool during the warmer months when properly insulated.
Lay rugs on hard floors
Your feet play a big part in keeping your body temperature warm. Those cool-to-the-touch tiles become icicles to the toes, especially around dusk and dawn. By adding a couple of rugs to the floor, you’ll be saving yourself a sharp chill through your soles and save energy too.
Warm your pets too
Pets can feel the effects of winter too – why else would there be so many dog coats available to buy? Make sure there’s someplace warm for your fluffy friend to sleep at night – whether it’s an extra blanket on top of where they usually curl up, or bringing them inside.
Find more tips on weatherproofing your garage on our blog.
