Yes, we have started talking about winter.
The Winter season comes with its own troubles. From unlocking the freezing pipes to de-icing the driveway, every day is a bit dreadful in this cold season. So to help you tackle the winter, we have brought you this blog with some epic tips to winter-proof your home.
Winterizing Home
Winter can be depressing. It has been clinically proven that winter often causes people to experience high levels of depression, lethargy, and fatigue. These are also the symptoms for SAD — Seasonal Affective Depression.
Before we start preparing your home in order to reduce winter anxiety, it is better to invest in things that will increase your mental well-being in this season. For instance, having Dish TV with the magazines new will help you stay mentally active indoors. You can watch your favorite TV shows on chilly nights, which means that you do not need to step out unnecessarily. Also with the Dish TV guide, you will never run out of channels to keep you entertained at home.
Apart from investing in your home entertainment, there is a lot more to do to winter-proof your home.
De-Icing the Driveway
Internet is the greatest gift to help with fixing everything at home. From installing air conditioners to making your car from scratch, the internet is there to help. However, for winter-related fixes, Google might give you some outdated information. For instance, Google will start recommending you to use fertilizers to de-ice the driveway. This is not entirely wrong but the phosphorous and nitrogen concentrated in fertilizer will melt the ice and the tainted runoff can wind up in lakes, creeks, and rivers, which can prove to be damaging to the environment. This is the reason why Maryland and Virginia also adopted the law against using fertilizer on pavements.
Therefore, de-icers having magnesium is considered the best for this purpose, considering salt is also toxic for animals and plants.
If you want a perfectly clean driveway, then pick up a snow shovel, and start cleaning walkways before a fresh snowfall.
Combat Dry Air
Do you feel itchy a lot and suffer from dry skin with frequent nose bleeding in winters? Well, this might be because the air inside your home is too dry. First, you need to check with your hygrometer, which is a measuring device often combined with a digital thermometer.
The ideal home reading shows 40-45 percent in the meter but if the reading is below 30 percent, then your air is a lot dry and is the reason behind uncomfortable issues like itchiness and nose bleeding.
Before ordering a humidifier, you first need to check in with your doctor to confirm whether you or someone in your house has asthma. Needless to say, cleaning the humidifier every three days and also changing the water in the pan can help you avoid putting your and anyone’s comfort at risk.
Insulate Pipes
Do you know what is a good time to insulate pipes running through the crawl space, basement, or attic in your home? Now is the best time!
Before making any changes in your house to prepare it for the Winter, you first need to help the pipes from freezing.
Pipe freezing in winters is a common sight, which often leads to pipe bursting. However, if you insulate them, it can keep them from bursting. In addition, the insulating keeps the pipes under hot water liners and prevents congestion.
Many hardware stores and home centers offer foam tubes, which are extremely easy to install. However, before purchasing them, it is important to measure the diameter of your pipes.
Watch the Snow!
Light snow can signal some significant changes you need to do in your home to protect it from winter troubles. Except, do not forget investing in things that bring comfort to your mind and body.
