Here are five things you’ll want to have on hand for winterizing your home and keeping you and your family comfortable.
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Here are five things you’ll want to have on hand for winterizing your home and keeping you and your family comfortable.
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
If icicles form at your eaves and you’ve done all the insulating you can, installing deicing cable helps prevent ice dams from forming. Even a tiny ice dam can send water underneath shingles, causing all sorts of damage, if left unchecked. Learn how to prevent ice dams with deicing cables.
Water pipes in chilly basements or unheated crawl spaces are vulnerable to freezing when the temperature plummets. Pipe insulation alone isn’t enough. Add this to your winterizing a home checklist: Install heated cable, made expressly for this purpose, under the insulation. This helps prevent pipes from freezing, bursting and causing thousands of dollars of damage in minutes. Find out why pipes burst and how to prevent it.
In the harshest climates, winterizing your home means taking every step possible. Even if you have frost-free sillcocks, it’s cheap insurance to pop insulated covers over hose bibs. They only cost a few bucks and take seconds to install.
Chances are, you’ll leave your windows shut during the winter. To further seal your windows, apply removeable caulk where the sash meets the frame. Here’s the simple how-to for sealing up those drafty windows.
Even a small gap under a door creates an uncomfortable draft. A door sweep puts the squeeze on that breeze. For doors leading to unheated areas or seasonal use areas, draft-stoppers provide even more help winterizing your home. Here’s how to adjust your door sweep if it’s not doing its job.
Up next, here’s 16 ways to warm up a cold room that actually work and some winterization tips for your car.