Winterize Your Home Now!

October 15, 2019

If the 300+ car crashes in Denver and Aurora last week are any indication – we’re not exactly ready for winter! But we can be, and this guide to winterizing your home is the perfect prelude to prepping for snow, ice and low temperatures.

Stay Warm and Save Dough

Keeping your house toasty this winter is a top priority, but did you realize how much money it could help you save? Taking a few simple steps now will help you reap rewards later—in the warmth of your house as well as in your wallet!!

See how much heat you could be losing by taking a look at your doors on a bright sunny day. If you can see light around the edges, it’s time to replace the weather-stripping, according to U.S. News and World Report. Spending a few dollars now on weather-stripping will save you hundreds of dollars on your heating bill this winter.

A couple of the easiest and most cost-effective winterizing hacks involve your hot water heater! Did you know you could buy a blanket to cover it for around $30 at the  Southlands Home Depot, five minutes from your front door? While you’re at it, lower the temperature on the water heater. You won’t notice a difference going from 140 degrees to 120 degrees—and that’s the temperature the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends.

Fire-Proof Your Home

With wildfire season mostly behind us, Coloradoans may be breathing a sigh of relief—one less worry, right? But winter fires can occur, too, and are often caused by problems arising inside the house. Check out these common sources of house fires and make sure you aren’t at risk.

This is the season to clean out your dryer’s lint duct—that’s the silver flexible tube connected to the back of your dryer. Clogged ducts are a major cause of house fires, and chances are you’ll be using your dryer more often this winter. CNet walks you through this process in five easy steps.

Fireplaces are another possible hazard, so make like Mary Poppins and call your favorite chimney sweep! Dirty fireplaces and chimneys are responsible for almost 1/3 of house fires every year, according to the National Fire Protection Association. This is one job that’s better left to a professional, Magnify Money suggests, and gas fireplaces are no exception!

A winterizing checklist in the Washington Post reminds us that our houses are also closed up tightly, increasing the hazard from carbon monoxide. So, this is a crucial time to test smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors—and don’t forget to change the batteries if you’re not on a daylight savings time schedule (November 3, this year)!

Don’t Forget Your Lawn and Garden

The mild weather forecast for this week and next is an ideal time for yard work. Save yourself a headache (and loads of money by avoiding costly repairs) by trimming back any tree limbs that are hanging over your roof or driveway. Once they are weighed down by ice and snow, branches are more likely to break and damage everything beneath them.  Magnify Money offers this tip: If any of your trees are near power lines, give your utility company a call to see if they will trim them free of charge. 

If you’re dreaming of the perfect lawn come next spring, you’ll need to get to work now to make it happen. New grass only grows in milder temperatures—not the intense heat of summer or the cold of winter—so take advantage of these perfect fall temperatures for some great growing time! Follow this schedule from property management expert Justin Pierce for best results and in late October, apply fertilizer and winterizer.

You’ll be thanking yourself next spring if you plant bulbs this fall! You don’t need to have a green thumb for this easy gardening job. The Colorado State University Extension Office says late right about now is the perfect time to plant a variety of bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, and crocuses. Be sure you choose a sunny site, work the soil to a depth of at least six inches, and plant the bulbs with the points sticking up. The Farmer’s Almanac advises waiting until spring to fertilize—just as soon as the first shoots have come up from the ground. 

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall at Southshore 

Every season is a good one when you’re Living by the Lake! Stop by the family-friendly community of Southshore with beautiful new homes from Richmond American Homes, Toll Brothers, and Century Communities, and picture yourself in your very own dream house! With ranch and two-story models available, new homes are priced from the upper $400s to the $700s.