Winter Home Maintenance Tips

The holidays may be over but the chilly weather is not. Winter lasts until March 20th, and that means homeowners need to take cold weather seriously. Home winterization is the best way to protect your property and avoid emergencies in your Caruso Home. Here’s our handy maintenance tips for keeping the winter weather at bay. 

Your home’s roof is the barrier between you and icy, snowy or rainy conditions.

Visually inspect your roof for missing or broken shingles, pooling water, deterioration, flashing damage or clogged gutters. Walk the perimeter of your house and trim any branches that hang over your roof.

Head inside and peek into the attic or roof soffit. Look for any water damage or staining. 

A dusting of snow in the winter is a beautiful sight, but it poses several risks to your home and property. From mold and rot to roof damage, this harsh precipitation needs to be dealt with quickly.

As soon as snow arrives, clear it from your concrete walkways and driveway. Shovel first, then use sand or other non-salt products to melt the ice. Salt is damaging to concrete, so better alternatives for thawing ice are cat litter, wood chips or straw.

Protect your roof from the weight of ice and snow by clearing gutters and roof valleys if you see large accumulation. A broom or rake are useful for getting those hard to reach areas. Walk around your house and remove any snow that has gathered above the foundation level of doors, siding and brick.

Simply replacing your heater’s filter has multiple benefits in the winter:

Change your filter 4 times per year, especially if you have several people or pets living in the home. Your user manual may have other recommendations on annual maintenance to keep your home consistently toasty.

Caruso Homes are built with your energy savings in mind. Find out about our Energy Elite building practices here.

Colder temperatures are a big threat to the pipes under your ceiling and behind your walls. Your pipes deliver water throughout your home, and that water is vulnerable to freezing. This causes expansion and burst pipes.

Avoid emergencies and property damage by protecting your pipes and faucets. Here’s a detailed plan of action to winterize your plumbing.

There’s plenty of winter maintenance that homeowners can handle themselves, but there’s nothing quite like having a professional inspect your most important winter equipment. This is the only way to make sure you’ll enjoy reliable heat all season long. 

Invest in inspections and tune-ups for your water heater, central heating system, chimney, and fireplace or wood stove. A professional knows what to look for and can make recommendations that prevent interruptions to your winter comfort.

Caruso Homes are designed and built with durability, longevity and comfort in mind. If you want a home that exceeds expectations in the winter months, contact our team about building your new energy efficient Caruso Home. 

For more information about caring for your home and seasonal maintenance checklists, visit the Homeowner Resources on our Warranty web page.