Here are 10 things you need to think about when preparing your property for the winter.

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If you’re a homeowner, there are certain tasks you’ll want to accomplish before winter arrives. Here’s a checklist of 10 ways to prepare your home for the cold season:

1. Clean your gutters. You don’t want leaves and other detritus to settle in your gutters, blocking the flow of water and creating ice dams when the weather gets cold.

2. Unscrew your outdoor hoses once you’re done using them. Make sure they’re drained and put away before the frost comes. A hose attached to an outdoor spigot can freeze and cause catastrophic damage to your house.

3. Adjust your air returns. If you have cold air returns with a high and low setting, you should adjust those appropriately for the season. You are going to want to open the lower registers and close the top ones to keep the hot air in and draw the cold out.

4. Service your furnace. Have your furnace serviced, or at a minimum, change out the air filter.

5. Service your fireplace. Your fireplace should be serviced and checked annually to make sure it’s working properly.

6. Change ceiling fan direction. In the winter, change the direction of your ceiling fan to pull the warm air upwards. Studies have shown that alone can reduce your heating cost by about 10%.

7. Blow the water out of your in-ground sprinkler system before it freezes and gets wrecked.

8. Put away outdoor furniture.

9. Put in stakes for your driveway. This will help you see where the edges are once the snow has fallen

10. Buy a new snow shovel. If your shovel(s) were completely used up last year, purchase a new one for the coming season.

BONUS 11. Check Your Carbon Monoxide Detectors.  If you have gas appliances, make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector and that you have new batteries put in for the season.

If you have any questions about prepping your home for the winter or anything else to do with real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be glad to help you.

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