Leamington and Warwick Living Nov - Dec 2022

PREPARE YOUR
HOME FOR WINTER
Taking on some basic maintenance can help
prepare your home for winter as the changing
weather conditions can cause costly damage. With
a few easy steps you can be winter ready for the
long, cold months ahead...
1. SERVICE YOUR BOILER
Your boiler should be serviced annually
to make sure that it’s still safe to use and
works efficiently. Ideally this should be
done before the heating season. This
will give you some time to make sure
everything is still working before the days
get too cold!
There are other ways to ensure your
central heating is efficient. Bleeding
radiators, to release trapped air, is a DIY
task. While power flushing, a job best left
to the plumbers and heating engineers,
can ensure a build up of sludge is
removed from radiators.
2. INSULATE YOUR LOFT SPACE
If you haven’t already insulated this
space, or you have poorly performing
insulation that has slumped over time,
tackling this project will quickly pay
dividends over the colder months.
3. CHECK YOUR GUTTERING
An essential task when preparing your
home for winter — look for leaves, moss
and other debris and clear gutters and
downpipes to prevent blockages in heavy
rain and snow.
Cracked, missing or damaged rainwater
goods or brackets should ideally be
replaced, too. Leaky rainwater goods,
can, over a period of time lead to damp,
so it’s important to make these cheap
fixes now — rather than making costly
remedial work at a later date.
4. GET YOUR CHIMNEY SWEPT
The winter weather can cause damage to
your chimney, so the pre-winter months
are a great time to get your chimney
professionally swept. Sweeping will
improve the efficiency of your chimney by
ensuring any potential blockages, such
as nests or a build up soot, are removed
before you start using your open fire or
log burning stove.
5. INSULATE YOUR PIPES
Insulating (or lagging) your pipes can
reduce the loss of heating and also
prevent them freezing and bursting. This
is particularly important when plumbing
is located in cold areas such as in
uninsulated loft spaces and garages.
Keep the heating at a low level (above
4°C) even when you’re away from the
property, as this will help maintain a
consistent temperature around the pipes.
Just in case of emergencies, know where
your stopcock is to enable you to turn
the cold water system off and limit further
damage. The stopcock is usually located
under your kitchen sink and normally
looks like a tap/lever.
6. MAKE SURE YOUR OIL TANK IS
TOPPED UP
If your property has an oil tank, make
sure it’s topped up for winter. Doing so
will help you avoid peak winter prices
and make sure you don’t run out of oil
through the colder months.
7. GET YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE
READY
Making sure your garden is clear, clean
and ready for winter is a good idea.
Secure anything that could be swept
away by the wind such as greenhouses,
plant pots and wheelie bins.
8. GET YOUR ROOF CHECKED
Roof slates/tiles can become loose
throughout the year and this could lead
to leaks through the winter. It may be a
good idea to get your roof inspected by
a professional to make sure there are no
areas that need fixing before the colder
months.
9. DRAUGHT PROOF WINDOWS,
DOORS AND FLOORS
With current energy prices rises,
undertaking draught proofing measures
can be a relatively simple and costeffective
way of improving your home’s
thermal performance.
Measures include insulating loft hatches,
adding draught proofing strips to doors,
and blocking up unused chimneys.
Some tasks can take minutes — others,
such as insulating beneath timber
suspended ground floors, are more
invasive and will require considerably
more work.
10. MAKE SURE YOUR PROPERTY IS
INSURED
One of the most important things to
consider when heading into winter is
whether you have home insurance. The
winter months bring darker nights which
lead to higher crime rates, plus the UK
weather obviously starts declining in the
winter. Not only will most home insurers
provide cover for things like theft, but
also fire and flood too.
36 | www.minervamagazines.co.uk