“Winter is coming”, and unless you live in a tropical climate, you need to buckle up. Winters can be harsh in some places where the snow is knee-deep. Winters tests our patience in every way possible. Waking up in the morning feels like the job itself. It’s difficult to come out for grocery shopping and going to work is more difficult.

That’s why it’s important to prepare for the coming months. You must’ve taken out the woolens and shoved the summer closing inside the closet. Now it’s time to work out ways to make your house well-equipped to seal in the warmth. There’s nothing worse than going through a busy winter evening and coming back to a cold home.

All you want to do is get inside a blanket because all your rooms are freezing cold. Winters already make people unproductive and this can add to the trouble.  You can change that by following a routine and making your house ready for the winters.

What can you do to keep out the cold?

There are multiple hacks that allow you to keep the winter breeze outside the door. Installing a few gadgets here and there can do the job. If you live in a building, ask the manager to install a good quality gas furnace to keep you warm. Now, it’s time to understand what you can do to avoid the chills this winter.

1. Door sweepers: Doors are generally thin and there’s not much scope when it comes to insulating them. Cold air gets inside your house which creates air drafts that make you cold. If you can avoid these drafts, you won’t need to get another heater. That’s how you save money. These are fairly easy to install as all you have to do is remove the old one from beneath the door (if it’s allowing air in) and install this. Then you can do the same with the door gasket above the door which installs in the same way. Watch some tutorials to understand the task.
2. Saving A/C Unit from snow: When snow accumulates on the A/C unit of your house, it can damage a lot of other appliances. What you need to do first is clear out the drain can as it generally contains water which makes it cooler. Clean the area around it and then do the simplest thing. Put a board on top of the unit and cover it with a plastic sheet so snow doesn’t sit on it. Make sure the board is more in area than the unit. This allows the snow to land a little further than the unit, saving it from getting cold.
3. Blowing out the sprinklers: The water inside the sprinklers can freeze and expand during winters. This may lead to the bursting of pipes and you’ll need to replace them. In worst-case scenarios, you may need to replace the entire system. Therefore, it’s best to turn off the sprinklers and blow them out of any additional water that remains inside. You can do this yourself with the help you an air compressor or hire someone to do it. This costs around $25-$35, so one can easily manage to get it done.
4. Sealing off the cracks: Every house has some cracks and holes here and there that can invite a cold breeze inside. They can be big or small. Big ones need repair but you can easily seal off smaller ones with Loctite foam. All you need to do is find the cracks and spray foam on them. The foam seals the cracks and makes them opaque so no air comes inside. Make sure you practice the spray a few times as it can get messy. The trick is to take it slow so it evenly spreads out.
5. Reversing your ceiling fan: In summers the fan rotates counterclockwise where it allows the hot air to rise up while keeping the cool air below. But in winters, you don’t want it to do that. Reversing the direction of the ceiling fan makes it bring the risen hot air down so that it keeps the room nice and warm. It’s easy to do. You’ll need to remove the cover and you’ll find a switch that changes direction.
6. Checking your smoke detectors: It’s estimated that house fires are more frequent in winters. The credit goes to all the heating devices that people set to maximum. That’s why you need to keep checking your smoke detectors to make sure they’re working fine.

Following these tips will lead to a warm and safe winter. All these points are automatically connected to saving money. When you manually prepare to keep your house warm, you don’t need to turn up the heat every time temperature goes down. This helps you to save up on electricity bills. Start winter-proofing your house today so you can ‘chill’ during the holidays.