Preparing your home for winter may not be on the top of your to-do list right now; however, this is a requirement of your rental agreement if you live in a single-family home or townhome. Cold weather and ice can indeed do damage to your home, and we ask that you take the necessary precautionary steps in order to prevent any possible damage.
Please take the steps below to help prevent damage to your home if we are to receive freezing temps, ice or snow.
- Disconnect and drain all outside hoses.
- Shut off all exterior water valves.
- If you have a fireplace, keep the flue closed when not in use.
- Make sure your furniture is not blocking any heating vents.
- During cold spells, keep your cabinet doors open to allow warm air to circulate around pipes, especially those that are in kitchens and bathrooms.
- Keep a slow trickle of water flowing through your faucets connected to pipes that run through unheated or unprotected spaces.
- Install Styrofoam covers over the foundation vents on the exterior of your home to keep cold air from entering underneath your home in the crawl space. This may help prevent against frozen pipes and having debris and rodents enter your home as well.
- Change your furnace filter every 3 months.
- If your gutters need to be cleaned, please contact our office so we can arrange a cleaning.
- Install hose bib cover to exterior faucets
Be sure to test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Winter is the time when most house fires happen. You are most likely to have your home closed up tight and carbon monoxide is a bigger hazard.
Winterizing your home for winter can be a pain - we realize that. If you do not have the time nor wish to take the steps above, PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE. For a small fee of $79 plus the cost of supplies - we will send out our tech to ensure your home is properly winterized.
--- Stay Warm, Stay Safe! ---