How To Get Your Home Ready For Winter

• Winterize your sprinkler system before the first hard freeze, usually around 10/15.                              If you haven’t done it yet, it’s time!

• Disconnect and drain garden hoses, cover outdoor faucets.
• Rake up all the leaves, aerate your lawn, put down winter fertilizer.
• Inspect the outside of your home carefully.  Caulk all gaps around windows and doors.              Inspect and touch up exterior paint where needed.
• Have your furnace cleaned and serviced, and install a new furnace filter.                                      Cover your air conditioner unit.                                                                                                        Program your thermostat for winter.
• Have your fireplace and chimney cleaned, serviced and inspected.                                                      Have the chimney cleaned if you burn wood.
• Switch the direction of your ceiling fans so they are blowing air up, which is clockwise for most fans.
• Check your snow blower and make sure it is ready for winter.                                                              Have it and a good snow shovel ready in an easily accessible location.                                                Clean and put away your lawn mower and other outdoor tools.
• Clean your gutters and downspouts, but wait until after all the leaves have fallen!       
• Last, and probably most important, check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms and make sure they work!  Did you know they turn yellow as they age on purpose?  If yours are old and discolored they should be replaced.  Did you also know that whenever a home changes hands in Colorado, as a sale or rental, the seller is required to provide a working carbon monoxide detector within 15 feet of the door to each legal bedroom?  If you’ve lived in your home a long time, have you added CO detectors where needed?  It’s suggested extra carbon monoxide alarms be added near any fuel-burning system or appliance (in the basement near the furnace, near gas fireplaces, gas ranges and cooktops, etc.).  If you need to replace your smoke detectors or add carbon monoxide alarms there are all-in-one combination units available now that alert for fire, smoke, and carbon monoxide.  For many homes, one unit on each level may be sufficient. 

Provided by Lynne Hannifan, HomeSmart Cherry Creek, 303-589-5494, [email protected]

©10/18/2017