Follow This Guide for a Comprehensive Winter Checklist In 2017

Texas may not get the harsh winters of some parts of the USA like the New England area, but it’s not exactly a gentle dip in tropical temperatures like Florida either.

It can get cold here, and when that happens, there are going to be changes in your household. We can help you to stay on top of these things by managing a few of the point’s we’ve got on our winter checklist.

Maintain or Improve Your Insulation & Ventilation

If you don’t know what the state of insulation is in your home, an excellent place to start is finding this out. Do you have old fiberglass that’s only on the roof?

Is there no insulation in the walls of your home that make contact with the exterior? You might be able to get even more energy efficiency when heating your home by having insulation blown into the walls.

Or maybe you just need to check the insulation on your roof to make sure no leaks have compromised it. On the other side of the coin, your ventilation needs to be kept in good working order.

Are your vents clean and clear? If mold has developed in your vents, this means everyone is at risk once air is blown through. If your exhausts or your air intakes aren’t clear, these can impact your heating efficiency.

Check Your Fire & Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Alarms are one of those things everyone hopes they never have to use, but it would be extremely foolish to not have them around the house.

Your fire alarm protects you throughout the year, so always make sure it’s working. You may wonder whether you even need a carbon monoxide alarm, but once you’re using your furnace regularly, you’ll want one nearby.

Modern HVAC systems often use gas to create the heat in the home. But a mechanical failure can, if unnoticed, create carbon monoxide as a side-effect, which has the triple threat of being odorless, colorless and lethal if breathed in enough.

The only defense you have in the event of a carbon monoxide leak in your home is a carbon monoxide alarm to warn you to get out.