Well…..we’ve avoided talking about winter maintenance until now because that means we have to actually face the fact that winter has arrived *sigh*. Maintenance is the key to ensuring your house is in tip-top shape when it comes time to sell and winter is no different! No one likes to be on the verge of a sale only to have issues come up during an inspection that can lower your sale price, or worse, wreck the deal.
We’ve compiled a list of maintenance tasks that any home owner can do in a few hours or less to avoid pricey problems throughout the winter months:
- Turn off your exterior water lines. Frozen pipes aren’t pretty so make sure that your water doesn’t have a chance to sit in outside pipes, freeze and burst.
- Clean out your gutters. While you’re putting up your festive Christmas lights, take a moment to clean any debris out of your gutters to reduce weight on your gutters and keep them in good shape.
- Swap out your furnace filter. The change of the season is a great time to put a new furnace filter in to keep your heat pumping all winter long. A dirty filter can limit the performance of your furnace. Pet Owner Tip: If you have an animal that sheds, you may want to consider changing you filter every month or two.
- Have your fireplace or chimney serviced. You don’t want to wait until a power outage to figure out that your fireplace isn’t operating at it’s best because it will get cold quick!
- Test your sump pump. Slowly pour a few gallons of water into your sump pump and ensure it turns on. This preventative maintenance will not only save you should you get flooding, it will also keep your sump pump in good working order.
- Protect your air conditioner. Check your owner’s manual to see how to best care for your specific unit, however, a simple piece of plywood held down by a brick or stone placed on top of your a/c should be enough to protect it from falling icicles or excessive snow.
- Check for air leaks on windows or doors. Invest in some new weather stripping for doors and/or re-caulk windows where necessary.
Are there any amazing winter maintenance tips that we’ve missed?! Comment below and share with our readers!