Home maintenance during the winter can often feel daunting, especially when you get that surprise snowstorm or cooler temperatures you aren’t prepared for. This guide will give you a full list of the most important items to address this winter, to give you peace-of-mind and ensure that your house weathers these cooler months with ease.

– Replace the filter in your HVAC.

This helps to prevent dirt buildup in your ducts and furnace, which can cause it to break down or work less efficiently. We also recommend getting a tune-up for your furnace as you head into the winter, to make sure that all components are functioning properly. The last thing you want, is for your furnace to go out during the freezing temperatures!

– Clean your dryer vents.

Cleaning your dryer vent and removing excess lint can elongates the lifetime of the dryer, lower the risk of a fire, and increases the overall efficiency of the machine.

– Check electrical appliances, outlets, and fuses.

This is a great habit to thoroughly check in the winter. While the cooler temperatures keep you from working on the outside of your house, this is the perfect project to tackle while you are cooped up inside.

– Deep clean your stove.

Now that the holidays are over and you’ve finished enjoying that roasted turkey or honey-baked ham, it’s time to give that oven a deep-clean! We recommend deep cleaning kitchen appliances every three to six months but the holidays can definitely put more use on your kitchen. Enjoy this extra time indoors to complete those more tedious deep-cleaning projects.

– Trim branches away from your home.

This is an important task to complete between the winter storms and heavy winds roll in. Neglected branches may pose the risk of falling on your roof, surrounding power lines, and even your driveway. By trimming these away from the house, you are also protecting the longivity of your roof!

– Declutter your closets and garage.

This is one of our favorite New Year’s resolutions! Clutter and unknown messes may attract pests or create moisture in closets, especially during winter months. Taking inventory of your crowded spaces and cleaning out what you don’t need will only set you up for spring cleaning success!

– Seal up any leaks allowing cold air into your home, especially around dryer and pipes.

The average home loses 30% of its heating and/or cooling through leaks around windows and doors. Sealing cracks around pipes will help prevent them from dropping drastically in temperature and causing them to burst.

– Inspect the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

Replacing batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors is vital to ensure your home is safe during the winter. Heating systems often run mindlessly during colder months making house-fires more apparent.

– Reverse your ceiling fan.

Reversing your ceiling fan from the upward summer cycle pushes warm air down into your room enhancing the overall temperature.

– Remove icicles and ice dams from your roof.

Ice dams can cause costly leaks and intense water damage in your home, if left unattended. When ice freezes on your roof, it can block the drainage of water, creating leaks in the roof and leaving your drywall compromised to mildew and mold growth. As the temperatures fluctuate between freezing and thawing, check your roof to make sure that no water drainage is being blocked by ice dams.

– Check for pooling/standing water in your yard and around the base of your home.

Pooling and long-term standing water near your home can cause soil erosion around the supports of your foundation leading to rot and leakage. Especially when temperatures change drastically, this can cause large-scale snow melt, which can lead to pooling water. If you have consistent standing water in your yard, you may consider getting a french drain installed to help with drainage.

Happy home maintenance! Click here to print this list and save it for later! And, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram when you do.