This post was sponsored by Mirum. All views and text are my own.
As soon as the fall season arrives, it's time to think about what's coming next. Fall brings cooler temperatures and the favorite argument of all couples everywhere is when to turn the heat on. In addition to that fun debate about whether to turn the heat on or not, the fall season is a great time to start thinking about winter-proofing our homes.
While there are many things to think about when it comes to preparing your home for winter, one of the major parts of winterizing your home that most homeowners neglect is their roof.
On average, a roof lasts about 20 to 25 years. But a roof can need replacement much sooner for several reasons, including hail damage, poor attic ventilation, low-quality roofing materials or poor roof installation. The roof is the crown of the home and if you have any leaks, holes or missing insulation within your roof, then you're risking the extra costs involved in heating your home this winter season.
A few years ago, we had a really bad storm and hail here in Northern Virginia that greatly damaged our roof so we had to replace it completely. We chose an ENERGY STAR roof because of the many benefits it offers. Replacing our roof was definitely worth the investment!
Since winter is here again soon, I thought it's the perfect time to remind you all to get your home winter ready. Making sure that your home is more efficient before winter comes means that you need to check every place that heat could sneak out. This, of course, means making sure that your roof is winter-ready and properly insulated.
Here, I've created a checklist to help ensure your home is ready and more efficient before winter comes!
1. Clean the Gutters
During the fall season, when all of the leaves have fallen off, it's time to check and clean your gutters. Gutters that haven't been cleaned properly will back up and cause an excess buildup of icicles and water between the roof and walls of your home. This process of having buildup in your gutters during the winter season can cause major damage to the exterior portion of your home.
2. Clean the Chimney
Before you fire up the furnace it's important to check your chimney and have a sweep come by to clear out any soot leftover from the prior heating season. This is an important step so that a chimney sweeper can inform you of any maintenance you'll need to complete on your chimney prior to the full heating season of winter arrived.
3. Test all Detectors
Be sure to test all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home during the fall season. Blasting a furnace to keep the home warm during the winter months puts a home at a higher risk of fire occurring. Carbon monoxide can consume a home without anyone knowing too, as it has no scent, and often comes from a leak in your heating device. Make sure all of these detectors are in working order.
4. ENERGY STAR-Certified Roof
Having an ENERGY STAR-certified roof will help you keep the cold temperatures out and have your house maintain a more stable temperature during the winter season. The house experts at Sears Home Services know all about maximizing the energy efficiency for your home all year round with ENERGY STAR certified products, which can not only save you on heating costs but could score you a tax credit.
5. Check Insulation
Lastly, you'll need to be sure that your roof and all walls are properly insulated to hold in the most heat before winter arrives. The best way to get the most savings when it comes to insulation is to check that your attic has the proper rating level for optimal performance at holding the heat in during the winter. Your home services expert should be able to tell you the proper rating for attic insulation.
Using each of these tips on my checklist of how to make your home more efficient before winter comes will save you a lot of cash off your monthly heating bill. Each of the items on my checklist may seem small, but the savings are significant.
Sears Home Services: Offerings and Savings
If you think it may be time to replace your roof, you can call the professionals at Sears Home Services for a free in-home consultation.
If you're looking for roof installation and roof replacement services that will last a lifetime, Sears Home Improvement has a variety of Energy Star-certified products to choose from. They offer high quality roofing and their premium asphalt shingles withstand the wear and tear that metal and tile roofs cannot claim. They also offer exclusive Weatherbeater® Oakridge and Owens Corning™ Supreme roof shingles that offer some of the best quality and warranties in the industry.
If your home has siding, ask the experts from Sears Home Services about their energy-efficient vinyl siding options too!
Here are great savings offered by Sears Home Services for your next siding or roofing project!
Roofing: Save $500 on Roofing purchases of $1,500 or more. Offer expires 2/2/19. Not valid on prior sales or in combination with any other offer. Purchase requirement before taxes and after other discounts and must be made in a single transaction.
Siding: Save $500 on Siding purchases of $1,500 or more. Offer expires 2/2/19. Not valid on prior sales or in combination with any other offer. Purchase requirement before taxes and after other discounts and must be made in a single transaction.
To schedule your FREE in-home consultation for your roofing project, click here. For your siding project, go here.
I invite you to start thinking about winter now, by checking how efficient your entire home is before you get hit with a large heating bill come winter time.
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Misty N says
It's amazing how much money you can save by winterizing your home. I love all the tips you've shared! We make a point to do a few of these once the weather turns. I'm adding the rest to my list!
NAti says
This is such an important subject! Excellent tips for preparing the house for winter and saving on energy!
Annette, 3 Little Buttons says
Loads of great suggestions there. It's a real peace of mind knowing that there are recommended companies who are able to check things for you, if you are not sure on where you may be losing heat from.
Yeah Lifestyle says
It is so important to make sure our homes are running as efficiently as possible when winter arrives. We always make sure to check our insulation
kumamonjeng says
Where I stayed there is no 4 seasons so there is no winter but I am so glad to learn about the housing in the west or in the cold country. Over here, most of the housing does not have chimney. Your no 2 point has clear details on the tips for cleaning the chimney which is good learning for me.
Jasmine Hewitt says
these are great tips. thanks for the reminder on our chimney!
Deanna says
This is a great list of tips to winterize a home. We got our first snow last night and just barely got all the leaves out of the gutters. I have both a rake and shovel on my front porch.
Monice says
Thanks for the suggestions! My home does feel a little drafty. I need to follow your lead ASAP 🙂
Joanna says
This is a great list. I have moved this year from a flat to a house and I had no idea about the gutters. I will definitely add them on my list to check before winter comes.
Elailne says
This will be our first winter in our new house. It's older, from the 1940s, so it needed a lot of updates. One thing we noticed was the lack of insulation in every room except the master bedroom. We know we want to replace the siding next summer, so we're just going to add insulation then. Until then, it's lots of sweaters, layers, and blankets for us! 🙂
Catherine Santiago Jose says
Wow, you have a great checklist that need to prepare before winter and as a part of home owners in our place I will share this with them for their guidelines.
Annick says
ah I'd love it if you could give tips for those who live in an apartment!
Catherine says
Great checklist you've put together...it's so important to do and will save you lots of money in the long run. We've already gotten our first snowfall of the season here and it's not yet winter!
Sydney says
These are great reminders! I'm not a homeowner yet but I'll pass this along to my parents and friends who are 🙂
Terri Steffes says
Our house is five years old, so we are good on most fronts, however, we need to make sure that it is ok, not just assume!
Alexandra says
We are coming into Summer here in Australia, but I shall definitely keep your tips in mind for next Winter. Thanks for sharing this advice!
em says
These are all great tips for homeowners! Soon will be my turn 🙂
Chad says
That is really thorough! Thank you so much. I live in an apartment so i guess i am left with insulating the windows right? Anything else?
Chad
http://www.mosaicslab.com
Anna MV says
Being from the midwest, we definitely do most of these each year, however, I never thought about the attic. Yikes! Will definitely be inspecting that, thanks for sharing the tips!
Oh to Be a Muse says
All great tips, especially the ones about checking detectors and changing the insulation. Insulation really does play a big role in a house's efficiency.
stacey says
These are all great preventative tips to weatherproof your home. My siblings and I actually bought a service for our older parents that do this which is great.
Stacie says
These are all such great tips. We give our home a once over before winter and then again after to make sure that everything is in working order for the coming seasons.
Lyosha says
Great tips! Makes me wish I had a house to implement your tips and worry about it. But living in the city has some benefits too.
Kimberly Storms says
YES! I keep bugging my husband to make sure the chimney gets cleaned professionally and to make sure the fire detectors get fresh batteries and are working. (Honestly one of ours has been taken down for over a month now as it just doesn't want to work correctly!) Thank you for reminder about the importance of this!
Ricci says
These are all great tips for winterizing your home! I just got a few things done I need to finish up!
Louisa says
As a renter, I never really thought about may of these tips. Although it's already winter where I am, I'll implement some of the applicable tips this weekend!
Jenn @ EngineerMommy says
These are smart tips for sure. Keeping the gutters clean is something we need to take care of more often. We also need to use an insulation kit in a few windows! Thanks for the reminder!
Pam says
A good roof makes a huge difference in how well insulated your house is. We had ours repaired a while back and i was amazed how much more heat our house retains.
Debra says
We just added more insulation to our house and I hope it helps this winter! Our house is always so cold in the winter!
Tasheena says
Thanks for sharing this offer. Love your tips. We have to start working on our fall cleaning list.
Nina says
There are many things to be done to improve the house that I am living in now. Hopefully, I will get around to doing them soon.
Jona Shares says
We don't have winter season here but since we also experience cold weather, we can still apply some of these tips. Thanks!
Terri Steffes says
It is always on our list to check our house before the winter really hits. An energy audit is really good for your checkbook!
bianca says
This is perfectly timed as I KNOW my windows are the cause for my crazy winter energy bill...thanks for the tips!
Karen says
These are excellent tips. We do a thorough check of our home every season to ensure that we are as energy-efficient as possible for both warm and cold months.
Amber Myers says
I will keep these tips in mind. I need to make sure our home is ready to go for the winter. I think it is, for the most part, but I know our gutters need to be cleaned.
Jeanette says
I cannot believe that we are getting to winter again! How can it be that this year is just about gone. These tips are definitely ones I need to do. I always forget about doing anything with the chimney.
candy says
We do all of these at least couple times a year. Just finished cleaning out the gutters and putting up gutter guards to help keep them clean. Change out the filters is important.
Alli Smith says
Thanks for reminding me to check my gutters to make sure they are clean. Actually, my husband does that, but I'll remind him.
robin rue says
I don't have gutters or a chimney on my house, so that's 2 less things I need to do. I will be sure to make sure my windows are covered, though, because they get drafty.
David Elliott says
I know I really need to do something about the insulation in an add-on section to the house. It would make it so much better during both winter and summer.
Karen Monica says
A very informative post for the coming winter.Hopefully everyone check their home to be comfortable and safe before the winter.
Surekha Busa says
This is such a great post and very informative as well. As we all know that winter is coming fast and these is such an awesome advise that we should always remember in times of the coming season.
Mommy Sigrid says
So helpful! These ideas should really be taken seriously by everyone who lives in winter climes. It's better safe than sorry. It's your home after all.
Elizabeth O says
What a great reminder before winter comes. I have to check my home too to be prepared and save much money.
Channon Gray says
Very helpful post for coming into the Winter months. Thank you!
Katherine Gamble says
This was super resourceful to read. The winter is right around the corner and it’s better to be prepared for it to cut down half of its severity especially In the New Jersey/New York area.
Happy and Busy Travels says
We do not have winter here, but I wish to experience it someday 🙂
Kemi says
This is actually my background lol. For those with no money to change a roof this late in the season, look to winterize your envelope: add weatherstripping to your windows. They are cheap at Ace or Home Depot and they alleviate heat loss in winter. Remove window a/c units and if you cannot because of storage, buy a/c insulated covers from Home Depot and wrap them up. Buy insulated door sweeps for the inside of front doors or interior doors to minimize heat loss.
HipMamasPlace says
Thank you so much for the very helpful suggestions, Kemi. I can tell you are very knowledgeable about this topic 🙂
Laura Dove says
Great advice! I worry a lot coming up to winter about how efficient our home is and how much our energy bills will be!
Monidipa Dutta says
This is really very detailed. But I stay on 13th floor in a condo can you suggest me something for that?
HipMamasPlace says
Hi Monidipa, I would call Sears Home Improvement near you if you have one. I'm sure they have a good lineup of suggestions for what you can do to make your condo more energy efficient 🙂
Melissa says
This is a great list! Our home is so old, there are definitely many things that could be done to improve it!