Not long ago I was listening to some of the questions that came in on the Homefront Hotline, which is the name of our radio show call-in line. Sometimes this can be the biggest chore because it takes so long. Other times it's one of the most entertaining portions of my day because some of the questions are absolutely hilarious. Case in point: one lady called in and said she had a new home that had been winterized and she wanted to know, "How do I de-winterize it?" Okay, so here's the short answer: Don't.
Before you start laughing too hard, this is actually a legitimate question. Every year we hear about winterizing our homes, so it just makes sense that if you winterize, then at some point in time you would DE-winterize. But the truth of the matter is, winterizing your home is just a fancy way of saying you're making it more energy-efficient. Don't misunderstand, there are some things that you will want to remove as the warmer weather sets in, but for the most part these winterizing steps are just fine to stay in place all year long. That being said, let's look at my Top 7 Suggestions that you should think about doing to help protect your home against Old Man Winter and make the colder temps more tolerable.
1. Stop any air from coming in or going out. This means a thorough inspection of all windows and doors, HVAC registers, interior attic access openings and any openings specifically designed for pipes or wiring. This is something that you really have to do on a yearly basis, even if you have caulked around your doors and windows in the past. Caulking has a tendency to shrink and even deteriorate over time, especially if you used an economy brand when you did do the caulking. Here's another surprise for some people. Did you know that weather stripping can actually shrink? If you're lucky, you won't have to replace any of this for several years, but inspect all these areas annually.
2. Wrap any exposed plumbing pipes. Earlier this year, I was featured on a local CBS news story giving my advice for an upcoming freeze. In the course of the story I mentioned that foam pipe insulation is one of the cheapest, easiest things you can purchase and install to help protect your home against cold weather. But sometimes, something that simple can be a challenge. Especially when everybody on your block, down the street and in the entire city limits decides to purchase foam pipe insulation at the same time. This, by the way, is not uncommon. If for some reason you go to your home center and find all the pipe insulation is sold out, you do have other options. These aren't the best options, but they'll do in a pinch. You can wrap pipes with old towels, rags and even newspaper. Just make sure you wrap all of the pipe that is exposed, and tie it off with twine, wire or the old reliable standby, duct tape.
3. When it's time to turn on the heater, it's time to reverse the ceiling fans, if you have them. This is another question we hear a lot on the radio show. How do you know when the fan is going in the right direction at the right time of the year? Here's how you know if they're correct: Stand directly under your ceiling fan and look up. In the winter, the blades should be turning clockwise. Unlike the summertime, though, you don't want the fan motor on high. Air movement is what makes you feel cooler, so in the winter time when your fan is reversed, keep it on the lowest setting. This will help circulate that warmer air that tends to rise back down into the living area without creating too much of a cooling breeze. Here's the slogan I came up with (try not to point at me as you laugh): In summer, counter keeps you cool. In winter, clockwise is the rule.
4. Inspect any duct work for leaks. This is easier said than done, but not impossible to do as a homeowner. The last thing you want is to have all that expensive hot air spilling into your attic or crawl space. You may want to consider having a professional come in and inspect for leaks with their precision equipment. It may cost you $200 or $300, but that much money may be worth it to save you the aggravation of trying to find the leaks yourself. If you do find leaks, you can use special metallic tape and brush-on mastic to seal up the gaps.
4. Inspect any duct work for leaks. This is easier said than done, but not impossible to do as a homeowner. The last thing you want is to have all that expensive hot air spilling into your attic or crawl space. You may want to consider having a professional come in and inspect for leaks with their precision equipment. It may cost you $200 or $300, but that much money may be worth it to save you the aggravation of trying to find the leaks yourself. If you do find leaks, you can use special metallic tape and brush-on mastic to seal up the gaps.
5. If you have temporary storm windows and doors, now's the time to put them back up. If you don't have them or can't afford them, you can purchase a temporary plastic film that installs on the inside of the windows. It's not my first choice, but if you have older, single-pane windows, this could be a smart move to get you through the winter.
6. If you haven't done so already, install a programmable thermostat. Pick one up that allows you to program the week days separate from the weekends. When you're at work and the kids are at school, program the inside temperature to be 10°-15° lower than normal. Then, program the unit to kick back up to your comfort level about 30 minutes before you get home. Here's another thought. Make your comfort level 5° cooler and wear sweaters inside. You may not like this one, but it's amazing how much that 5° can save you on your heating bill.
7. Check your insulation. In the attic, if you can see the top of your ceiling joists, you need more insulation. You can have more blown in or just roll out added batts on top of the existing insulation. If you add batts, be sure to use the unfaced kind. If your home is on piers, make sure you have some insulation between the floor joists. This brings up another point, especially if you have a crawl space that has air vents in the sides. Those vents are placed there to circulate air and keep moisture from building up in the crawl space. Excess moisture can lead to mold and mildew. The question is, do you close those vents in the winter? If you live down South, my advice is leave them open. Southern winters can be fairly mild and moisture/humidity levels are still a concern. North of the Mason-Dixon, however, as long as you have drier air in winter, it won't hurt to close the vents in those colder months. However, that really won't do you much good unless the crawl space walls are also insulated.
This is, by no means, a complete checklist, but I think they belong pretty close to the top of any list that you come up with. Certainly you can add to these items, things such as keeping your air filters changed on a regular basis and making sure any fireplace -- whether wood-burning or gas -- is in top-notch operating capacity.
By the way...in case you're interested, numbers 3 and 5 SHOULD be part of your annual DE-winterization...
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