Is Your Home In Good Shape For The Winter Season?
Winter is here, and if you’re a homeowner you’ll need to prepare your home for the cold weather. With strong winds, rain, storms, and snow all likely, we have put together our three top tips to help you get your home in good shape for the winter season.
Winter Tip 1. Maintain Warmth To Avoid Mould
A key thing to do when preparing your property for winter is to ensure it remains at a warm enough temperature to guard against damp and the development of mould. Mould not only damages and devalues properties but can also have a negative impact on your family’s health due to allergic reactions that make respiratory problems worse. Your home should be kept at a constant temperature of 18-21 degrees Celsius so that you won’t develop a damp problem.
While you’re looking at ways of keeping your home warm, bear in mind that cold air may be entering your property through your doors and windows. Use a draft excluder at your doors and hang thicker curtains to make a significant difference.
Winter Tip 2. Keep Your Home Watertight
If there’s one thing you can be sure of during the winter, it’s the fact that it will certainly rain! Ensuring your property gets rid of all the excess water effectively is essential during wet weather so make sure your guttering works as it should, and there are no gaps to cause leaks, as this could result in your property developing a damp problem. Make sure that water is draining away effectively through your drainpipes by removing any leaves, moss, twigs and winter debris.
Check your roof tiles too for any gaps. Look into your loft space and if you can see daylight shining through, arrange for someone to come and fix the problem.
Finally, ensure your water tanks and pipes are lagged. If there’s a sudden cold snap, pipes can easily burst, so ensuring they’re protected is the best way to guard against having to claim on your insurance.
Winter Tip 3. Stormproof Your Home
Storms are another common winter problem, so make sure you’ve tidied up and put away anything in your garden which could damage your property (or someone else’s) if there are high winds. Checking your roof tiles is imperative to ensure they don’t loosen and fly off during a storm.
Check whether your home is at risk of flooding. With more areas now experiencing flooding, you should check to see if your home lies in an at-risk area. You should also make sure that your home insurance is up to date and offers you sufficient protection if you need to make a claim.
Ready to move home this winter? Our team at Milburys are here to help. Take a look at our website at www.milburys.co.uk to find out more about properties for sale or to let in Thornbury, Chipping Sodbury and Wotton-under-Edge and give us a call on 01454 417336 to arrange a viewing.